Veuve Clicquot 1996

White peach, toasted brioche, spiced quince and a stony, flinty edge announce a Champagne that has aged with quiet authority. Fine bubbles carry the fruit gracefully across the palate, where crisp pear and a briny, oyster-shell note extend through a long, precise finish. For a wine pushing three decades, the freshness is startling, taut acidity and clean structure holding everything in line. Plenty left to give.