Laurent-Perrier Brut Millésimé 2018

Laurent-Perrier only puts a year on the label when the harvest earns it, and 2018 earned it comfortably — a long, warm, generous season that gave Champagne real ripeness without losing the acidity that holds the shape. This comes from that single harvest, split roughly half Chardonnay and half Pinot Noir, then left in the chalk cellars at Tours-sur-Marne for years before release.

What you get is the familiar Laurent-Perrier line, clean and upright and unfussy, with considerably more underneath it. Citrus and white stone fruit first. Then toasted brioche and roasted nuts arrive, and the finish runs long and chalky rather than heavy.

At £73 this is the bottle for a table that deserves better than the house pour but has no need of a prestige cuvée. Somewhere between the first oysters and the moment someone orders another for safety.

How to Serve

9 to 11°C. A white wine glass, not a flute — a vintage Champagne has aromatics worth catching, and it will keep opening up over the first half hour.

Where to Drink It

Bentley's on Swallow Street, for the oysters. J Sheekey, for a proper fish supper. Dandy on Maltby Street if you want it less formal.

Food Pairings

Oysters, obviously. But it is better still with a roast chicken and its own juices, where the toast and nut notes have something to lean on.