The Champagne Bonnaire Cramant Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2014 is a taut, chalk-driven Champagne made entirely from Chardonnay grown in the grand cru village of Cramant, in the northern Côte des Blancs. Long ageing has softened its edges without dulling the clarity, giving a wine that is both fine-boned and quietly powerful.

Lemon curd, white peach and green apple lead, with hazelnut, brioche and toasted grain sitting underneath from six and a half years on lees. There is a floral lift over the top of it, and a faint saline whiff that keeps pulling the nose back to the glass. The mousse is very fine and the acidity runs straight down the middle, framed by the chalky, almost powdery texture that marks good Cramant fruit. A dosage of 5 g/L leaves the wine dry and clean-lined rather than austere, and the finish holds on citrus pith and crushed stone well after the fruit has gone.

Pour it with Sydney rock oysters, sashimi or a plate of jamón, or take it to the table with roast chicken, scallops in butter, or a young comté. It has enough presence for richer fare than most blanc de blancs manage. Disgorged in December 2021, this 2014 Cramant grand cru is drinking beautifully now and should hold and gain further complexity through to about 2032.