2012 Franck Bonville "Pur Oger" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

The citrus, almost golden colored 2012 Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Pur Oger is sourced from two specific vineyards in Oger (Les Noyerots and Les Rumigny) that were harvested on September 15th, exactly a week earlier than the corresponding three plots for Pur Avize. The wine displays a deep, rich, tropical yet more aristocratic and mineral bouquet of intense brioche and nougat aromas as well as ethereal, refreshing lemon and limestone notes. Full-bodied, round, rich and complex on the palate, this is a mouth-filling yet structured, salty, finessed, very elegant and perfectly balanced Oger Champagne. It has stunning purity and vitality as well as refreshing citrus fruit and ripe peach/nectarine flavors on the finish. Bottled in April 2013, the Pur Oger was aged for five years under cork before it was disgorged as Extra Brut in April 2018 (dosage: two grams per liter). It is an expressive but delicate and noble Blanc de Blancs that lacks the lightness, clarity and precision of the Avize but is intense and structured firmly enough to evolve very well over the years in the bottle. (SR)