2012 Egly-Ouriet Champagne Millesime Grand Cru

Francis Egly’s 2012 Brut Grand Cru Millésime is predictably brilliant; but it’s also a serious, structured wine that will need time to unwind. Mingling notes of citrus oil, pear and stone fruit with hints of freshly baked bread, praline and baking spices, it’s full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with huge concentration and a taut, layered core. Built around a racy spine of acidity and prodigious reserves of chalky extract, it’s long, precise, and remarkably fine-boned and elegant for such a powerful wine. Make no mistake, this is one of the wines of the vintage, but—like the 2008—it will demand patience. With more age on cork, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if it began to close in on a three-digit score.