Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs 2012
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Robert
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The Blanc de Blancs 2012 is pale yellow-gold in color with shimmering reflections, enhanced by a fine and elegant stream of lingering bubbles. The nose exudes notes of dried fruits and hazelnut, which combine harmoniously with touches of citrus and exotic fruits. As the wine opens up in the glass, it reveals aromas of peach and apricot.
On the palate, the first impression is clear-cut and incisive. The wine beguiles with its balance between vibrant youth and rich maturity. Fresh notes of citrus are underpinned by a bright acidity. The aftertaste is persistent but delicate and leaves a lasting impression of great refinement. This is a champagne bursting with elegance.
Excellent as an aperitif, but has enough structure to accompany fish such as John Dory, turbot or monkfish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Such wonderful transparency and clarity in its nature with lightly cooked apples and chalk. Some white pepper. Full body. Totally integrated fruit and acidity and a long and flavorful finish. Love the brightness. Drink now.
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Wine Enthusiast
This beautifully balanced wine aligns the tautness of the Chardonnay with swathes of rich apple and lime flavors. It is vibrant, still ripe with freshness and acidity. Drink now.
Cellar Selection
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pol Roger's 2012 Brut Blanc de Blancs is excellent, offering up aromas of crisp green apple, freshly baked bread, white flowers and blanched almonds. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and precise, with fine depth at the core, racy acids and a pinpoint mousse, it has shed some of the smoky, gently reductive top notes it displayed two years ago, but equally it hasn't yet arrived at its mature aromatic register—so I'd be inclined to cellar bottles for a few years before revisiting this. Rating: 93+
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Pol Roger is one of the few remaining family-owned grande marque Champagne houses. Their grande marque status was guaranteed at the turn of the century when about 20 producers banded together to establish exacting quality controls for Champagne. The annual production at Pol Roger - less than 120,000 cases - is found in the best restaurants of France, England, and the USA, and is exported to over 30 countries. Pol Roger also was the Champagne of choice of British dignitary Sir Winston Churchill, who once said of Champagne, "...In victory I deserve it, and in defeat I need it!".
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.’