Laurent Perrier Vintage Brut 2012 (1.5L)

95 WE / 95 FS / 94 JS / 94 JD / 94 WI / 93 WA / 93 DE / 93 WS / 93 JM / 91 VP / 17.5 JR

Vinepair Best Champagnes of 2023

A vintage that marks the producer's 200th anniversary, the Champagne is ripe with mature white fruits. It is an impressive wine that has richness alongside a tight mineral texture. Drink now. Cellar Selection — Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast

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. Drink or hold. - James Suckling

The 2012 Champagne Brut is equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and has 8 grams per liter dosage. Since the 1950s, only 30 vintages have been produced by the house. The aromatics are reminiscent of a Burgundian feel, with pleasant flinty reduction, smoke, and vibrant green fruits of pear and citrus blossoms. Offering an energetic mousse with green apple, yellow plum, lemon curd, and wet stone, this wine is well-balanced and should continue to improve over the coming 15-20 years. - AF, JebDunnuck .com

Light gold with very fine, persistent bubbles, the Brut Millésimé 2012 is 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir aged ten years on lees and finished with an eight gram per liter. Redolent of white peach, Chantecler apple, toasted brioche, vanilla bean, and honey brickle, the medium to full-bodied palate is richly textured around a plush red fruit core and balanced by stimulating and bright acid freshness through a long finish with a kiss of lemon peel bitterness. - SM, Wine Independent

A blend of equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the 2012 Brut Millésimé offers up aromas of lemon oil, confit citrus, spices, almonds, spring blossoms and warm biscuits. Medium to full-bodied, enrobing and charming, it's precise and layered, with good depth at the core, resulting from the 2012 vintage, enhanced by bright acids and concluding with a delicate, vanilla-inflected finish. Dosage: eight grams per liter. - YC, Wine Advocate

2012 is the 30th opus of this cuvée. Since 1938, and the acquisition of Laurent-Perrier by the Nonancourt family, it has been crafted to be a subtle balance between ‘the house style and the vintage style,’ according to Michel Fauconnet, Laurent-Perrier’s chef de caves. The Pinot Noir, which comprises half the blend and which Fauconnet describes as very ‘powerful’, is sourced from five villages: Bouzy, Verzy, Aÿ, Mailly, and for the first time in the history of this cuvée, Rilly-la-Montagne, which is not a grand cru village. The Chardonnay, which makes up the other half of the blend, is sourced from the villages of Le-Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Cramant and Chouilly. ‘The year 2012 was characterised by successive climatic accidents. There was a major winter frost as well as a spring frost, not to mention 10 or so episodes of hail, causing significant damage. A hailstorm on the seventh of June caused extensive damage in various villages,’ said Laurent-Perrier. In spite of this, the dry and sunny summer brought about a beautiful maturity. With an energetic yet bright bouquet, the Laurent-Perrier 2012 possesses gorgeous aromas of orchard fruits, herbs, lemon and spices, with a hint of menthol. Calcareous on the palate, the structure is medium- to full-bodied, with a laser-like texture and a long and penetrating finish. It is undeniably one of the frank successes of the vintage, and while it has no need for further ageing, it may surprise us even further in the future. - Yohan Castaing, Decanter

A harmonious Champagne, with a fine and persistent mousse on the palate, this layers a rich note of marzipan with flavors of white cherry, preserved lemon, biscuit and a refreshing streak of salinity that lingers on the mouthwatering finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Drink now through 2032. - AN, Wine Spectator

This wine is on a roll recently. The 2008 represented excellent quality for price, as is the 2012. This wine is distinguished by its lemon-toasty reductive aspect and bitter phenolics, complemented by a scintillating acidity. The 2012 possesses an extra juicy edge of bitter stone fruit on the mid-palate. Really very attractive, another two years should see some extra smoothness and finesse. Drink from 2026-2032. Tasted: November 2023. - Stephen Pritchard, Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy

This wonderful vintage wine is made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay sourced from multiple grand cru vineyards. There’s rich aromas of pastry and fresh citrus on the nose. It has a finesse on the palate with fine bubbles and mineral-driven acidity. The wine is aging nicely and will only improve and deepen with time. - Vinepair

Neat and creamy. Very lively and suitably tense – without the breadth of some 2012s. Really fine and fresh with undertow, too. Very pretty with a dry finish and lots of impact on the palate. - Jancis Robinson