Champagne Agrapart Mineral Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru 2012 Review and Tasting Notes
If you want to savor the quintessence of Champagne minerality, the Champagne Agrapart Mineral Blanc de Blancs brut grand cru 2012 is a bottle to try.
It is a blanc de blancs from Chardonnay grapes, born from over 40-year-old vines in the heart of the Côte de Blancs, in the grand cru of Avize, a renowned area that is also rich in chalky soils.
If, to this peculiarity, you add a maturation on the lees of 60 months, an artisanal production, and a residual sugar equal to zero, here you will have the juice of stones, flowers, and pulpy fruit in the glass, all softened by the impressive maturation of the yeasts.
We tell you right away that the Champagne Agrapart Mineral Blanc de Blancs brut grand cru is a great wine, one of the finest, but at the same time, it is one of the most contemptuous and cheeky Champagnes there is.
There are no sugars to gild the drink; instead, a sidereal sapidity and a magnificent aromatic development are slowly and elegantly revealed while always maintaining a bold step.
However, such a substantial concentration of matter corresponds to a splendid finesse, chiseled by a long aging on the lees; do not think it is a rude Champagne; only that it is full, very intense, to the nth degree.
The bouquet
It opens with a mineral and marine series of algae and iodine, then the enveloping yeast notes start with a caramel profile with sugared almonds, bread crust, and cascading custard.
The fruit is pulpy, juicy, and mottled with citrus fruits and caramelized peels.
Masterful. Wide-ranging, almost dazzling for aromatic rigor and butteriness, never stylized or pleased with such sumptuousness.
The flavor
Salty, vertical mouth, full of momentum, layers that open little by little and sharp freshness, but tamed by an almost tactile sensation of the yeasts.
Balance, silky perlage, as only a great Champagne can offer, and fabulous persistence: that symphony of salt and bread that seems simple, but which hides an incredible work as a wine craftsman, remains on your tongue.
You realize you are drinking an out-of-the-ordinary wine because it is as if it were speaking to you with its nuances; it is telling you its story; it amazes you with its liveliness.
Price of Champagne Agrapart Mineral Blanc de Blancs brut grand cru 2012
120–130 euros, but it’s worth it to the last drop. It is a bottle that excites and enlightens.
Food Pairings
Parmigiana ravioli, spaghetti with clams, chicken tikka masala, Chicken Cacciatore, Vitello Tonnato, truffle risotto, pasta alla carbonara.