Moët & Chandon Champagne Blend Champagne Grand Vintage Brut 2004

Every Grand Vintage is unique and original, the cellar master s personal, free interpretation in service of the singular qualities of that year s grapes.

A deep, rich Champagne, featuring toast, malt, apple and graphite aromas and flavors. This is full of mineral on the palate, with a lingering, savory finish. Drink now through 2020.

With its high percentage of Champagneandrsquo;s third grape, Pinot Meunier, as a result of the growing conditions of 2003, this is a great wine that is developing fast. It has more toast, less fruit, although its richness and weight are finely in balance with a yeasty cookie dough character.

A rich, opulent style, offering peach, apricot and ginger flavors. Full-bodied and muscular, yet with a firm structure keeping it all focused and a nice tangy finish. Drink now through 2018.

Vivid gold with a strong bead. Lemon meringue, cherry pit and smoky minerals on the nose, along with a suave, nutty undertone. Fleshy citrus and orchard fruit flavors are firmed by a bitter fruit skin quality and sweetened by floral honey. Less rich than I would expect from this vintage, with good finishing lift and cling.

Moandeuml;tandrsquo;s vintage, from the hot, low-yielding 2003 vintage, has an unusually high percentage of Pinot Meunier (43%), suggesting there is a distinct character to the year. Itandrsquo;s certainly powerful and intense, soft initially, hinting at toast and yeast, the fruit almost sweet, even though the wine is a brut style. It is the rich strawberry flavor thatandrsquo;s most surprising on a wine that really has integrated impressively.

The ripe sweetness of the 2000 vintage adds to the fleshiness of this wine, seeming superrich without weight. The flavors range from vanilla bean to Brazil nut and citrusy lime, all structured around limestone minerality. It's elegant and refined, the flavors lasting with complexity. Serve with a paillard of chicken in chanterelles and cream.