Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Vintage 2012 750ml

This beautiful wine, with its poise, elegance and balance, has both a steely mineral core and an outer ripe-fruit character. It has citrus, tight acidity and rich apple and green-plum flavors. Drink now.

Roederer’s white golden 2012 Brut Vintage is a classic Millésime. Based on 70% cool-climate Pinot Noir from Verzy and Verzenay (Montagne de Reims) and 30% Chardonnay from a very warm, south/southwest-facing vineyard in Chouilly (Côte des Blancs), the 2012 represents the mineral terroirs of its origins beautifully—pure, refined and fresh. Fermented 8% in oak and with just 16% of the volume having done malolactic fermentation to make the Roederer Brut Vintage a classic gastronomic wine, the 2012 shows a deep, rich and ripe but also fine, precise and elegant chalky nose with hazelnut, toasted almond and blossom flavors. The palate is profound, round, highly elegant and fresh, and the long, remarkably salty finish is very complex and terribly fresh in its persistent mineral expression. This is an impressive, ripe and almost creamy textured but precise and finessed 2012 with power, body and structure. A true, highly stimulating classic. Just love it! Disgorged in January 2017 after four years of bottle aging (dosage: nine grams per liter).

This mouthwatering version is fine and satiny in texture, featuring citrus peel acidity that frames a well-meshed range of crushed currant, Earl Grey tea and lemon curd flavors, with a rich hint of toasted brioche. The minerally underpinning echoes on the finish. Drink now through 2030.

Roederer's 2012 Brut Vintage will give readers a very good idea of what to expect in this vintage. Racy and voluptuous, with striking resonance, the 2012 is ample, creamy and wonderfully inviting. Baked apple, brioche, pastry, spice and light tropical notes all flesh out in a radiant Champagne that drinks well right out of the gate. There is plenty of vintage 2012 concentration and ripeness, and yet the Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon managed to retain considerable energy here as well. This is such a compelling Champagne.

Roederer's 2012 vintage Champagne is terrific. It's a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay with a dosage of 9g/l, demonstrating a perfumed and racy bouquet of citrus, pastry, spice, peach and pear. It has a perfectly balanced, vinous palate with a lively and intense freshness supported by finely-judged acidity, ending with an iodine note to the finish.

The 2012 Champagne Vintage Brut is another beauty. White flowers, ripe orchard fruits, brioche, toasted bread, and a kiss of chalky minerality all flow to a soft, mouth-filling Champagne with outstanding purity and balance. It shows the richer, forward style of the vintage nicely.