CHAMPAGNES AT GILMORE - (7/1/2026)
Visited the recently opened Gilmore and have to say Damian D’Silva is truly one of the great Singaporean chefs. Wonderful food (especially grateful to Jun Hong who supplied the fish!) paired with a very strong line-up of champagnes. Naming the favourites is a subjective exercise but unsurprisingly the usual suspects of Suenen, Savart, Bereche, Leclapart (which I have recently come around to) and Egly topped the lot for me, with generic Gosset and the laughably bad Bolieu ending up as the backmarkers.
- 2012 Marguet Champagne Grand Cru La Grande Ruelle - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
100% Pinot Noir. Disgorged Oct 2017, zero dosage. This was absolutely electric in 2023 (where I said that this was at peak) but agree with Benoit’s recent note that this has taken an oxidative turn. Still enjoyable with plenty of red fruit left but the hazelnut notes brought me to early '00s. (91 pts.) - 2018 Savart Champagne Premier Cru Les Noues - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
100% Pinot Noir. Disgorged May 2022, zero dosage. After an unimpressive bottle this was a welcome return to form. Only Prevost and Savart produce a non-rose with a salmon pink colour so managed to narrow the producer correctly. Surprisingly rich and sweet for a zero dosage wine but retaining the signature Savart elegance and tart acidity. Drew the long end of the stick for bottle variation here. (93 pts.) - 2018 Champagne Suenen Pinot Meunier Champagne La Grande Vigne Vieilles Vignes Extra Brut - France, Champagne
A little too linear and dominated by acidity on the first pour but the green fruit developed some slight oxidative notes with air which helped to round off the tautness Similar to the previous experience with this cuvee, this was Meunier made very much in the vein of an elegant BdB. One of the crowd favourites tonight, including mine. (94 pts.) - 2014 Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant Extra Brut - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Not the biggest fan of this producer and this was no exception. The combination of excessive acidity (that made it easy to guess as a BdB) with the oak signature of honey and cinammon spice wasn’t for me. (89 pts.) - 2018 Bérêche et Fils Champagne Premier Cru Brut Les Beaux Regards - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
My contribution. 100% Chardonnay. Disgorged Jan 2022, 2g/l dosage. Superb intensity and while others managed to guess this as a BdB, they thought this was a relatively cooler vintage compared to the more tropical Larmandier-Bernier. Lovely intensity and freshness for a warm vintage, was a tie between this and the Monts Fournois Pinot as the favourite Bereche out of the trio. (93 pts.) - NV Emmanuel Brochet Champagne Rosé de Saignée - France, Champagne
2022 base. 90% Meunier, 10% Pinot Noir. Not difficult to guess this as a Brochet when presented with a rosé with such a deep colour. Didn’t have the depth that I expected but will chalk it down as it being too young; the cherry notes were a little confected and verging on cough syrup territory for me. (90 pts.) - NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Les Crayères - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
2017 base. 100% Pinot Noir. Disgorged Oct 2025, 1g/l dosage. The only universally-liked champagne between the two camps of fans of linear champagnes vs a richer style. Hedonistic without lacking freshness or complexity, but had some oxidative notes that made me think this was from the mid-'00s. Would drink these no (93 pts.) - 2017 David Leclapart Champagne Premier Cru Cuvée L’Aphrodisiaque - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
80% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir. Zero dosage. Similar to the '14 L’Apôtre that I opened at Christmas, this was a surprisingly balanced Leclapart that wasn’t too natty or austere. Red fruit dominant despite the Chardonnay dominant blend; wildness with a distinct saline and peppery note that helped to deliver depth and length. Without a doubt the most complex champagne tonight. (94 pts.) - 2012 Gosset Champagne Blanc de Blancs Célebris - France, Champagne
Nice enough and inoffensive, but too generic and boring that I didn’t drink more than a sip of this to conserve my liver capacity for the other wines tonight. (88 pts.) - 2014 Domaine Les Monts Fournois Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Montagne Verzenay - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Brought for a friend. 100% Pinot Noir. Disgorged Dec 2022. Superb elegance and verve with some bruised red apple roundness of a Pinot that probably made this the most balanced Bereche tonight. (93 pts.) - 2018 Bérêche et Fils Champagne Rive Gauche - France, Champagne
Brought for a friend. 100% Meunier. Disgorged Nov 2021, 3g/l dosage. Betrayed its Meunier roots as it was richer and more powerful than the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir cuvees tonight. The warmer vintage probably made this riper than what I would have liked as the '16 I had previously was more elegant. Also had a slightly distracting sarsaparilla note. (90 pts.) - 2014 Bolieu Champagne L’instant B. - France, Champagne
Among a line-up of pretty strong producers this was clearly the weakest link. Thin, dilute citrus fruit that a friend correctly described as tasting like sparkling water with lemon. Laughably bad at this price point. (83 pts.)
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