Bollinger : "Vieilles Vignes Françaises" Blanc de Noirs 2012

Disgorged in March 2023 with six grams per liter dosage, Bollinger's 2012 Blanc de Noirs Vieilles Vignes Françaises is a powerful, multidimensional Champagne that pushes the house's vinous, Pinot Noir-driven style to the furthest. Offering up rich aromas of orange rind, mandarin oil, grilled peaches, dried fruits and pear mingled with notions of nutmeg, beeswax, smoke and buttered toast, it's full-bodied, broad and layered, with a deep, enveloping core endowed with extraordinary texture and concentration, its broad attack and mid-palate segueing into a long, resonant finish. If the 2013 vintage tended to tame some of the Vieilles Vignes Françaises's exuberance, the 2012 vintage leaves this cuvée untrammeled.

A nose in perfect harmony with the wine’s golden hue, offering aromas reminiscent of gemstones, a refined spicy nobility, and incense; then on the palate, radiant fruit, hints of nashi, and endless complexity that surprises with every passing second, followed by a mineral, rich, chalky finish—this is a Champagne that seems capable of aging for centuries without ever losing any of its splendor.