Lilbert-Fils Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut NV 750ml

100% Grand Cru Chardonnay from Oiry, Chouilly, and Cramant in the Cote des Blancs. Bottled May 17th with 7g/L dosage. 55% 2007 fruit and 45% 2008 fruit. Reviews If there is a producer in Champagne making more impeccably fresh, stylish Blanc de Blancs wines today, then I am unaware of it. I have loved these wines for years, and, being an admirer but also a critic by profession, have always been on guard for a bottle that would show a dip in quality. I’ve never seen one, and indeed the two bottles of Lilbert NV that I tasted during the past two weeks were among the best I’ve ever tried. The key to the excellence of Lilbert’s non-vintage wine (a vintage-dated Grand Cru Brut is the house’s only other offering) is a precise balance between austerity and generosity, and the accent here is on the word, precise: On one hand, this is a subtle, restrained, linear, sharply focused wine rather than an in-your-face blast of fruit and yeast. On the other hand, the wine is never stingy, but rather subtly satisfying, showing a focused and persistent beam of fruit recalling green apples and ripe lemons. Faintly toasty accents and a hint of minerality lend complexity to the finish, which is exceptionally persistent and refreshing, thanks in large part to very fine mousse that is stylistically in keeping with the wine’s overall flavor profile. If I’ve made myself clear here, you’ll understand that this is not a bombastic wine and not the best choice for bowling over a novice. It sounds snotty to say so, but this is a connoisseur’s wine, a Champagne of exceptional refinement.