Veuve Clicquot Vintage Rose 2012 750ml

FRANCE : CHAMPAGNE

Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier

MED-BODIED, WILD STRAWBERRY, MORELLO CHERRY, PINK GRAPEFRUIT, BRIOCHE, OAK

Madame Clicquot made the first blended rosé Champagne in 1818, adding still red wine to a finished white blend instead of coloring it with elderberry. This bottle is still built that way: 13% still Pinot Noir from Bouzy, the Grand Cru village on the Montagne de Reims that has made serious red wine for centuries.

The rest is the house's 66th declared vintage since 1810. Pinot Noir at 51%, Chardonnay at 34%, Meunier at 15%, all from Grand and Premier Cru sites, with 11% of the blend aged in large oak foudres. Roughly five years on lees is where the brioche comes from.

There is real tannin here, which is unusual in a rosé Champagne and the reason James Suckling called it a rosé for red-wine drinkers. Serve it at 10 to 12 C in a wine glass, not a flute, and give it half an hour of air. James Suckling 94 pts. Wine & Spirits 93 pts.

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