Henri Billiot & Fils Millesime Brut 2012 (750ML)

 

Disgorged in July 2017, the 2012 Brut Millésimé Ambonnay Grand Cru is excellent, wafting from the glass with a complex bouquet of honeyed orchard fruit, gingerbread, smoky peach and subtle spices. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, pure and racy, with a broad, delicately textural attack, a deep and youthfully tight-knit core and a bright spine of acidity, displaying a frothy mousse and a long, focused finish. While the wine is already drinking well, it appears to possess considerable potential to improve further in the cellar. - WK, Wine Advocate

 

Billiot's 2012 Brut Millésimé is a big, powerful wine that captures the natural intensity of Ambonnay. Even so, the 2012 is raw, tightly wound and in need of cellaring despite its considerable appeal and potential. There is no shortage of intensity to the dry, bracing finish. The blend is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. Dosage is 6 grams per liter. Disgorged: June 2016. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

Spice and floral notes accent juicy blood orange, pickled ginger and biscuit flavors in this vibrant Champagne, with a fine mousse and subtle, mineral-tinged finish. Drink now through 2025. 100 cases imported. - AN, Wine Spectator

 

This is 70 percent pinot noir and 30 percent chardonnay, and like all of Billiot’s champagnes, it comes entirely from Ambonnay. It’s firm in structure and dense in flavor, showing the concentrated character of the vintage, yet it demonstrates finesse and poise as well, persisting on the palate with long, ample fragrance. Like many 2012s it remains notably youthful, needing several more years in the cellar to unwind, yet it appears to have all the requisite elements for a long and positive development. 

 

Billiot’s five hectares of vines are all in Ambonnay, spread over 18 parcels. Even more impressive is that all but one of their parcels are on the mid-slope, in the most favored portion of the vineyard area, expressing the classical character of this famous village. “The wines of Ambonnay are very vinous, with a lot of strength,” says Serge’s daughter, Laetitia “but they are also very fine, with delicacy and finesse. They stay fresh for a long time.” All of the wines are fermented in enameled steel tanks, which Billiot prefers to stainless steel, and the wines are neither fined nor filtered. In addition, they do not go through malolactic: “We have 100-percent grand cru vines, which always give a high degree of maturity,” says Serge Billiot, “so we don’t need the malo." -Peter Liem, Champagneguide.net