1 | Wine | Champagne, 91 to 95, 1999

"Hints of toffee and anise run through the fresh quince paste, coffee, pastry and candied orange peel flavors in this supple Champagne, which sports a rich flavor profile in a restrained package, with a smoky note echoing on the finish."

"An exotically perfumed bouquet displays scents of dried pear, acacia honey, toasted almond, white flowers and smoky lees. Lush and creamy in texture, offering hefty citrus and orchard fruit flavors braced by tangy minerality. The honey and smoke notes linger on the spicy, focused, very long finish. This is drinking well now but has the structure and energy to age."

"Deeply pitched, pungent aromas of candied lemon, pear skin, anise, buttered toast and smoky lees, with notes of ginger and white flowers adding lift. Densely packed yet vibrant, showing impressive power and clarity to its mineral-accented citrus and orchard fruit flavors. Expands on the finish but maintains its focus, picking up iodine and bitter lime notes that linger impressively."

"There's an understated vibrancy to this well-integrated wine, with pastry, green pear, fresh greens and lemon zest notes shaping its subtle layers of flavor. A briny minerality runs through the wine, emerging on the smoke-tinged finish."

"Offers a fine balance between rich, smoky nut and coffee character and flavors of ripe pear, pineapple, lemon meringue and ground ginger, with well-meshed, firm acidity. A hint of coffee liqueur shows on the creamy finish."

"The 1999 Brut Millesime is a dramatic, large-scaled Champagne that sweeps across the palate with remarkable density in its fruit. The wine shows superb length, with chalky notes that linger on the finish. This richly-textured, full-bodied Champagne will offer highly pleasurable drinking now and over the next few years."

"The wine exudes notable complexity in its dried apricots, peaches, baking spices, roasted nuts, ash, freshly baked cinnamon rolls and sweet toasted oak. This is a soft, creamy style of Champagne backed up with impressive structure. The oak notes are rather prominent at first, but then recede somewhat with air. Readers who prefer wines with less overt oak influence will probably enjoy some of the other releases more."

"Light, bright gold. High-pitched citrus zest and Anjou pear aromas are complicated by jasmine, honey and sea salt. Sappy and precise, offering vibrant lemon, orange and floral flavors and an exotic touch of iodine. Shows a suave blend of power and vivacity and finishes with excellent clarity, cut and lingering florality."

"The 1999 Brut Blanc de Blancs is another deep, multi-dimensional wine from Billecart-Salmon. Here the fruit shows slightly more burnished tones, along with greater textural richness and weight, all while retaining surprising verve and cut. Roasted hazelnuts, smoke and pastry crust add complexity on the suave finish."