2012 Pol Roger Vintage Brut Blanc de Blancs Réserve

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.

The 2012 Brut Blanc de Blancs is another attractive Champagne in this trio of 2012s from Pol Roger. Ample and creamy, the 2012 is super-expressive today, with plenty of apricot, brioche, baked apple tart and toasty character. An initial burst of exuberance gives way to greater refinement over time. This is very nicely done.

Pol Roger's 2012 Brut Blanc de Blancs is terrific. The natural ripeness of the year amps up the Chardonnay flavors. Rich and ample in the glass, with tons of depth, the 2012 really shines. Readers should expect a pretty big Champagne, but all the elements are nicely balanced. Disgorged: February, 2019.