2012 Veuve Clicquot Rose

This makes the NV look overpriced – strange to have only £7 between NV and 2012? Or perhaps this is a bargain?! Blend of 51% Pinot Noir, 34% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier from premiers and grands crus villages with 11% still red from Bouzy. Aged on lees for five years including 11% oak-aged wines. Dosage 8 g/l. Very bright orangey pale bronze. As with the current NV rosé, I get a hint of coconut. Fresh again, like the NV, and I suppose at this stage it doesn't taste all that much different from the NV rosé … just a little deeper-flavoured. Presumably it will reward ageing but it's certainly approachable now. (JR)