2012 Laurent-Perrier Brut Champagne

The 2012 vintage from Laurent-Perrier has mysterious, smoky aromas of quince and apricot fruit, with shadings of brioche and ground coffee, leading into a surprisingly rich texture on the palate. Still, there is abundant acidity to keep everything in balance, and the wine lingers moreishly on the palate. The wine is half Pinot Noir and half Chardonnay from top villages, including Oger, Cramant and Chouilly for the Chardonnay and Bouzy, Aÿ and Verzy for the Pinot. (CC)

Elegant array of lemons, slate, biscuits, oyster shells, croissants and brioche. Precise and focused on the palate, with sharp acidity and tight, fine bubbles. Pure and youthful for now. 50% chardonnay and 50% pinot noir. Dosage 8g/L.

Really pretty and fruit-forward nose comes out of the glass with just a little bit of swirling, more in depths analysis finds a lovely brioche toast. There's a lot of crisp green apple, lemon zest, quince, and then a line of chalk-covered almonds running in the deep background. The palate is explosive and amazing, it has a really outstanding depth and ripping acidity with more crisp green apples doused in lemon and then finishing with a long and lingering chalky and slightly saline minerality, all whilst a soft and pretty nuttiness works its way through the entire palate. This is a really gorgeously aged wine, and something I'm absolutely going to take home soon. This is the kind of champagne that you should make the center point of an amazing meal, it has all the depth, grace, and acidity that would make that kind of pairing possible. For me, one of my favorite things is Champagne and oysters and especially with the delicious and brisk level of acidity, I think that'll be a pretty perfect pairing.