France: Gaston Chiquet - Rosé Premier Cru Brut Non-Vintage, Champagne (Haute Valeur Environnementale)

Grape varieties: 30% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Meunier and 40% Pinot Noir.

The base wine was harvested in 2021 and was blended with 12% of red wine from 2020. Grapes harvested by hand (it is still illegal to machine harvest in Champagne for quality reasons). 2 to 3 years of ageing on the lees (dead yeast cells) in bottle.

This is a historic, family-run grower champagne producer founded in 1919 by brothers Fernand and Gaston Chiquet, tracing its roots back to 1746 when Nicolas Chiquet planted his first vines. Being a grower champagne producer (known as a 'récoltant‑manipulant'), means that - unlike the ubiquitous brands we all know - the wine they produce originates ONLY from fruit grown in their own 23 hectares (57 acres) of Premier and Grand Cru vineyard.

This makes them entirely self-sufficient, immune to spikes in grape prices, and able to control quality from grape to glass - although this does limit their annual volume to circa 168,000–180,000 bottles, much larger than the micro‑growers making 5,000–8,000 bottles but tiny compared with the grandes maisons producing many millions of bottles.

Sustainability at Gaston Chiquet: they received their Champagne Sustainable Viticulture and High Environmental Value certification in October 2015. They practice 'grassing' in their vineyards, being a solution to soil erosion and the development of unwanted vegetation that typically leads to chemical weeding.

This wine is consistently praised for its excellent value (in champagne terms) - many scoring at the same level are significantly more expensive. Grower champagne is very often significantly better value - and often better quality - than the big brands.

90 points: "red‑fruit purity, finesse, and food‑friendly acidity" - Wine Enthusiast