2012 Ayala Blanc De Blancs Champagne

About the Wine

Ayala’s Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay, produced in small quantities in exceptional years only and fully expresses the superb caliber of great Chardonnay from the best crus of the Côte des Blancs. It is truly a unique vintage offering.

The 2012 vintage is sourced from 3 Grand Cru villages on the Cote des Blancs: Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Chouilly and Cramant. After 6 years of aging in Ayala’s cellars, remarkable minerality and low dosage make this an outstanding wine that can accompany a variety of flavorful dishes, or stand on its own.

Subtle and inviting, this wine is focused and features delicate aromas of white flowers, citrus, clear honey and frangipane. Offering both balance and volume, the flavors on the palate show great coherence with the aromas, marked by notes of lemon zest and white flowers. Its silky texture gives it an ethereal quality that lingers on the fine mineral finish.

Reviews

Super attractive aromas of chalky, fine, lemon pastry and pears with a subtle mineral thread. The palate has a very attractive array of fine, smooth peaches and citrus fruit and delivers a plush, elegant and finely focused palate. Beautifully fresh blanc de blancs. Drink now. ~93JS

Disgorged with six grams per liter dosage after six years on the lees, Ayala's 2012 Blanc de Blancs is a pure, generous wine, bursting from the glass with expressive aromas of brioche, crisp yellow orchard fruit, beeswax and dried white flowers. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and vibrant, with a broad, attractively vinous attack, brisk acids and a fine, youthfully exuberant mousse, concluding with a long finish.

Purchased by Bollinger in 2005, this venerable Maison lost its vineyards and took some time to find its feet, but today it is an increasingly reliable source of bright, precise wines that emphasize Chardonnay (in contrast to Bollinger's Pinot Noir predominance) and typically see comparatively low dosage. ~92 WA