2012 Gosset "Grand Millésime" Brut Champagne

“A cool, ultra-pure and exceptionally pretty nose combines notes of green apple, floral, citrus peel and plenty of yeast influence. The equally elegant, pure and refined middle weight flavors are supported by a firm but fine mousse, all wrapped in a wonderfully long finish that is shaped by tangy citrus-tinged acidity. This is really lovely stuff that will need a few years of bottle aging to fully flesh out. Extremely promising.” (10/2020)

“The 2012 Gosset “Grand Millésime” is a beautiful bottle of bubbly. It is a blend in this vintage of two-thirds chardonnay and one-third pinot noir and was disgorged in 2019, after six years aging on its fine lees. It was finished with a dosage of eight grams per liter. The bouquet is bright, deep and complex, wafting from the glass in a mix of apple, pear, fresh-baked bread, just a touch of almond, chalky soil tones, white flowers and incipient smokiness in the upper register. On the palate the wine is pure, precise and full-bodied, with superb depth at the core, lovely soil undertow, a fine girdle of acidity, elegant mousse and a long, poised, complex and beautifully balanced finish. Like all Gosset wines, the vins clairs do not go through malolactic fermentation, so there is more of a youthful spine of acidity here that gives the impression that this is still quite a youthful example of the lovely 2012 vintage. Most impressive.” (04/2024)

“Since Gosset makes a point of commercializing wines only when they deem them ready, the 2012 Grand Millésime Brut will be released at the end of this year, while the 2010 and 2008 continue to wait in the wings. The wine is still quite tightly wound after its recent disgorgement, unfurling in the glass with a youthful bouquet of warm biscuits, apple, lemon and peach that picks up a more pronounced smoky top note as the wine sits in the glass. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, broad and powerful, with a deep and concentrated core, incisive acids and a precise, saline finish. This is a muscular vintage of the Grand Millésime that seems likely to evolve slowly. (WK) 94+” (04/2019)

“Jean-Pierre Mareigner made this wine and bottled it in 2013; Odilon de Varine, who took over as cellarmaster in 2016, disgorged the vintage in 2019. It’s two-to-one chardonnay to pinot noir, though the fruit ripeness of the pinot noir contributes more than its fair share of plum and red-blushed peach to the savory depths of flavor. As it opens, the brisk yellow-apple flavors develop intensity, the pure flavor of fruit picked fresh, the incipient scent of apple blossoms. Tina Vaughn of The Simone described that fruit depth as “musky, delicious, sexy.”” (12/2019)

“This offers spiced berry-biscuit aromas and a toasted hazelnut and brioche edge. Berry pastry, too. The palate has a suave, sleek and smooth texture. Finely honed and finishes dry. Flavor and focus here. Drink or hold.” (09/2019)

“A blend of two-thirds Chardonnay with one-third Pinot Noir, this beautifully balanced wine is poised between richness and intense crispness. Its apple and ripe pear fruits are now softening and beginning to meld into the taut texture. Still a little young, this wine will repay aging. (RV)” (12/2019)

“Crisp and minerally up front, this is finely meshed and mouthwatering, lightly chalky in texture and offering flavors of ripe black currant, lemon pith and pastry dough. Floral and spice notes play on the lasting finish. (AN)” (12/2019)

“Gosset's 2012 Brut Grand Millésime offers a terrific expression of the year in its toasted, open-knit personality. Pastry, orchard fruit, spice and light tropical accents all grace this translucent, alluring Champagne from Gosset. The 2012 has plenty of the energy Gosset fans will expect, but slightly softer contours that make the wine easy to drink and enjoy upon release. (AG)” (11/2020)