2015 Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque - Fleur de Champagne Millesime Brut, Champagne, France5

I tasted this blind with about 20 other champagnes and English sparklings and it stood out for being so very charmingly pretty! It tasted like a sunny day in mid spring when the orchard is a petal cloud of snow blossom and heavy with buttercups, primrose and daffodil. Apple blossom. Breezy and fresh and dancingly light and pretty, like a slice of cinnamon-dusted apple pie. Big, loose-laced bubbles and lacy charm. It may be that the fruit in the base wines is just very ripe, but I suspect the dosage is fairly high. Nothing wrong with that. You could just as easily have this with a slice of sponge cake as you could with a little gougère or pâté-topped canapé. (TC)

Janice Robinson