Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2012: A Complete Champagne with Great Balance and Length

Credits: Article and images by Ken Gargett @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/09/26/veuve-clicquot-la-grande-dame-2012-a-complete-champagne-with-great-balance-and-length-reprise/

—————————————————————————————————–

Scottish Watches Podcast #521: Convincing Aldis Hodge to Make the Horological Documentary ‘Making Time’ and Much More with Ian Skellern

Bell & Ross debuts an ice blue skull in full sapphire crystal

The 2012 La Grande Dame was made by Demarville but now falls to Mariotti. It is worth noting that there is a second version – though the same wine – in a presentation bottle and case created for the house by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Trust me, you won’t miss it. It is anything but the shy wallflower of champagnes. Pricing is around £160 in comparison with £120 for the normal bottle.

The 2012 La Grande Dame is the first release of this wine since the magnificent 2008. It was the 2008 that really stressed the Pinot path for the house, being a whopping 92 percent Pinot Noir, the majority coming from estate vineyards. The 2012 drops back to 90 percent Pinot Noir. Madame Clicquot was a great believer in the use of Pinot Noir, believing this led to the best champagnes. The team prefers the more northerly Pinot vineyards as these are considered to produce more elegant champagnes. The star vineyards are in Verzy, Verzenay, Bouzy, and Ambonnay in the Montagne de Reims and Aÿ in the Vallée de la Marne. The Chardonnay incorporated into the wine is from Le Mesnil and Avize in the Côte des Blancs. Dosage is six grams/liter.

This year is the house’s 250^th anniversary and the fiftieth anniversary of the first release of La Grande Dame. I have no doubt that Madame Clicquot would be very proud of what the team has achieved, not only with this wine but with the house.

Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2012: tasting notes

For me, the 2012 La Grande Dame is a special champagne. It walks the tightrope between dense and coiled power with delicacy, finesse, and elegance. Great intensity, finally balanced acidity, early complexity, and is still wonderfully youthful and with such a long future ahead of it. There is a brief, initial smoky note that morphs into raspberries, florals, jasmine, spices, hazelnuts, stone fruits, a hint of citrus, and even a whiff of mint and coconut husk. Great balance and such length.

Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2012

There really is little to suggest it is such a Pinot-dominant champagne. This can be cellared for ten to 20 years, longer in a good cellar, with confidence. A complete champagne. 97.

Finally, something truly special. When Mariotti headed to Brisbane to present the new release, he kindly slipped a few very special magnums into his luggage for friends. Magnums of the recently disgorged 1990 La Grande Dame, direct from the cellars at Veuve Clicquot. If this gives a glimpse of what is in store for those with the 2012 in their cellar, then I am seriously underestimating that wine. This was simply one of the greatest champagnes one could ever wish to drink.

Gold in color, it was wonderfully aromatic with honeysuckle, peaches, quince, beeswax, white chocolate, liquid honey, and lemongrass. Incredibly complex, it was bright, alive, finely balanced, and with great length. Layered, elegant, and with two decades at least ahead of it, this was a monumental champagne. Even better, this can be ordered from the house for around AUD$1,500 per magnum. Expect these bottles to be severely limited in quantity. 100.