Antoine Derigny Champagne Blanc de Noirs

This was opened for Friendsgiving but only a sip was consumed, and it was held in the fridge under a champagne stopper. Day 2: Still going strong, nice brioche nose and mouth-watering acidity. Day 4: A surprising amount of bubbles remain, still brioche on the nose with more ripe apple character. A bit more cidery on the palate. Very pleasant.

Polished gold in the glass. Fairly fine and persistent mousse. Big nose of toasted brioche. High acidity without being puckery. Excellent.

Retail $50? Exceedingly Heavy Bottle (825g; 29.0oz). 100%(?) Pinot Noir. Well, this wine was all over the place, from the first bottles being stellar (92 points), followed by a significant dip with the next few corks, then a brief stint in the middle, and now, with this Last Bottle , a return to the top (although I think I actually bought this from Last Bubbles ). A bit dark in color, rich, caramelized fruit, tons of yeastiness, a fervent sparkle, …

Retail $50? Exceedingly Heavy Bottle (829g; 29.2oz). 100%(?) Pinot Noir. Well, this bottle was right down the middle and has me convinced that this wine is incredibly inconsistent, making it doubtful that I will purchase it again. And that is too bad since the "good" ones were fantastic. Excellent. 90 Points. www.thedrunkencyclist.com

Retail $50? Exceedingly Heavy Bottle (829g; 29.2oz). 100%(?) Pinot Noir. The conundrum continues and I am about to give up on this wine due to the rather significant bottle variation. Overly nutty and a bit sweet, this is perhaps the worst bottle so far. Disjointed and lacking balance. Not terrible, but not stellar, either. www.thedrunkencyclist.com

Retail $50? 100%(?) Pinot Noir. The conundrum continues. This bottle, while better (slightly) than the last, is not (quite) up to the standard set with the first couple of bottles from the most recent case we purchased from Last Bubbles . Otherwise, similar notes. www.thedrunkencyclist.com

Retail $50? 100%(?) Pinot Noir. So this second case we purchased from Last Bubbles continues to puzzle. This is the fourth bottle of that 2nd shipment of this wine and the first two bottles were great. The third? Not so much. This fourth bottle is somewhere in the middle. My wife thought it was corked, or off some way (I didn't think so), but the dosage to me did seem to be a bit weird as the wine was overly …

Retail $50? Blend? I am not quite sure what it is, but this bottle is a bit off, a bit funky; something just isn't quite right. Most of the components of the previous bottles are there, but there is just something odd here that knocks it down a few notches. www.thedrunkencyclist.com

Retail $50? Blend? Second bottle? Same story with bottle #1. Similar notes. www.thedrunkencyclist.com

Retail $50? Blend? We had been really happy with previous cuvées of Derigny that we had purchased from the sister sites of Last Bottle Wines and Last Bubbles . We have loved those wines, so when this Blanc de Noirs came up on the latter, I jumped and bought a case. Based on this First Bottle? I should have bought more. Honeyed pear and peach with plenty of yeasty goodness, the aromas jump out of the glass of this straw-colored …