Winemaker Notes
Yellow hue with golden tints and fine, persistent bubbles. Aromas of candied fruit, dried apricots, almonds, acacia honey, and sweet spices. Density, texture and freshness come together in wonderful harmony on the palate. Generous texture, honey, brioche, and dried fruits with a long, refined finish.
Professional Ratings
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The Somm Journal
Aged ten years, this bright and vivacious blend of 52% Pinot Noir and 48% Chardonnay from a selection of Grands and Premiers Crus exudes fresh aromas of cashew cream and lemon cake, followed by tingling bubbles that reveal a delicate minerality and a hint of bergamot. Notes of ginger and white tea and waves of key lime and mandarin orange are edged with dramatic acidity.
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Wine Enthusiast
This Champagne, still young, has almost equal proportions of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. That results in a ripe, balanced wine. Its white fruit is cut with citrus giving a full-bodied mouthfeel. The wine should age further, so drink from 2025.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Pouring a youthful yellow-silver hue, the 2012 Champagne Le Vintage Brut takes things to another level of complexity while retaining good freshness. Lovely aromatics lift from the glass with a perfume of pastry dough and lemon custard, and although it’s medium-bodied, it offers more richness on the palate as well, with a silky texture and a fine, pillowy mousse. It’s rounded and balanced through the palate and has a long finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 52% Pinot Noir and 48% Chardonnay, the 2012 Brut Le Vintage was disgorged in September 2020 with a dosage of seven grams per liter. It reveals a delicate, perfumed bouquet with aromas of lemon oil, pastry, spring flowers and mandarin orange. Medium to full-bodied, lively and energetic with bright acids, it’s tensile and chiseled, displaying a searing intensity and an acid-driven finish.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’