Blue Mountain 2013 Blanc de Blancs 750ml

The best of the best at Blue Mountain is and has been the Blancs de Blanc R.D. since its inception in 2006. The all-chardonnay bubble is made in the traditional method, although there is nothing traditional about spending 7.5 years on your lees at the winery. So it was R.D. (recently disgorged) in August 2021, and then spent another year resting in a bottle before it was released the following fall. It has it all: dry, ethereal, precise, elegant, and sporting notes of green apple, hazelnuts, citrus, brioche and sea salt. One of the best non-Champagne sparklers in the world. It doesn’t need another day of ageing, but in my experience, there is no rush to drink this. Instead, stock up and serve this with fresh local oysters right out of the shell.

Score: 93 points -- Anthony Gismondi, gismondionwine.com