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Henri Giraud Argonne 2012

Tasting Notes

Revisited after an additional year in bottle, the 2012 Brut Grand Cru Aÿ Argonne continues to show brilliantly, unwinding in the glass with notes of golden orchard fruit, dried citrus peel, tarte tatin, warm spices, walnuts and toasted bread. Full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it's vinous and multidimensional, with superb concentration, racy acids and a delicate pinpoint mousse. Seamless and integrated, it's still an infant and will reward further bottle age.

98
William Kelley, Wine Advocate, September 2021

This is an extraordinary, hand-crafted Champagne with aromas of strawberries, spice, dried apples, clementines and subtle bread dough. Dried oranges, too. Full-bodied, yet so tight, compact and powerful with a solid core of fruit and a finish that goes on forever. 90% pinot noir and 10% chardonnay, all from the village of Ay and fermented and aged in new wood for 15 months. Then aged in bottle. Superb structure and complexity. One for the cellar.

99
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, August 2020

The bouquet is simply sumptuous with hints of mint and anise, overlying its 'al dente' or slightly crunchy white fruit, along with an enticing grace note of gentle spices. On the palate, the texture is fleshy, almost creamy, but perfectly balanced with remarkable overall precision, and enlivened by the stream... the house’s most emblematic cuvée, Argonne 2012, is also sourced entirely from the Aÿ district. It is aged in 100% new oak barrels from the Argonne forest, with only 5,000 bottles produced. Its singular character and, above all, overall precision and balance make it one of the great Champagnes from this outstanding vintage.

97
Yohan Castaing, Decanter.com, August 2020
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.