Sometimes I wonder if all the fuss and expense of champagne is really worth it – and then I run into a delicious fizz like this week’s Nick’s Wine of the Week, the Henriot Brut Rosé ($55) and realize, yes, it is. It’s like discovering the wonders of great champagne all over again.

Too many champagnes, even expensive ones, taste bland and uninteresting to me, but not these beautiful bubbles which have a real depth of flavor that sets them apart from the crowd. Perhaps it’s because it’s a privately owned business, always a help when you are trying to make fine wine, or perhaps it’s because Henriot use only chardonnay and pinot noir grapes, with none of the more prosaic pinot meunier, in the blend, a formula that’s usually only found in prestige cuveés at four or five times the price.

Perhaps it’s because those grapes come from top rated vineyards, but whatever the reason this wine has a wonderfully delicate and polished style, refined and elegant but at the same time possessed of a subtle, rich, yeasty earthiness which becomes more pronounced with the second glass.

So, if you are looking for a stunning rosé champagne for a special summer event at a price that won’t do to much damage to your already bruised bank account, this is the fizz.

And yes, and I’ll have that second glass please.