Derived from vines planted between 1965 and 1975 in the Coteaux du Sézannais and based on the 2022 vintage, complemented by 30% reserve wines drawn from a perpetual reserve initiated in 1986, the second edition of NV Extra-Brut Roc Solare is showing superbly. Disgorged in February 2025 with a dosage of one gram per liter, the wine unfurls in the glass with aromas of lemon confit, dried flowers and iodine, mingled with sandalwood and smoky reduction. On the palate, it is full-bodied and concentrated, driven by succulent yet racy acidity and culminating in a long, chalky finish. One should anticipate a more generous expression than Dhondt’s wines from the Côte des Blancs; yet, with quality of this caliber, it can hardly be regarded as an entry-level cuvée.
95 points, Kristaps Karklins, Wine Advocate (Mar 2026)
The NV Champagne Roc Solare Extra Brut (90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir) has ripe notes of nectarine, hints of ginger, pineapples, and chalky earth. Medium to full-bodied, it's pure and intense but balanced, with a pithy texture that retains clarity and freshness despite the ripeness. Drink 2025-2040.
94 points, Audrey Frick, Jeb Dunnuck (Dec 2025)
Adrien Dhondt's new entry-level cuvée, from the 2021 base, is Roc Solare, which replaces Dans un Premier Temps. The move puts the wine a bit closer in style to the generous, gastronomic spirit of the rest of the portfolio, but achieves a little more openness and readiness thanks to its composition of fruit from the sunny Sézanne (on flinty and moderately chalky soils), rather than the Côte des Blancs. It's all fermented in oak, save for the third of perpetual reserve added, and the end result in the crisp 2021 vintage is full of roasted apricot, russet apple and caramelised pastry, toned and pinned down by an impressive level of sea-salt savour and citric intensity. This continues to offer fine value.
93 points, Tom Hewson, Decanter (Sep 2025)
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