With the 2012 Brut Millésimé, Henriot's positive evolution begins to become apparent. A blend of 54% Chardonnay and 46% Pinot Noir, disgorged with less than six grams per liter dosage, it offers up aromas of citrus zest, white flowers, freshly baked bread and green apple, followed by a medium-bodied, brisk and precise palate. Built around a bright spine of acidity and enlivened by a pillowy mousse, it will take on additional depth and dimension with a few years on cork.
The 2012 Henriot has zesty fruit on the nose, paired with smoky toasted brioche that adds depth and richness. This same contrast follows on the palate, which has real acid cut and a lithe streak of citrus fruit through the middle, bolstered by a creamy mousse and smoky lees tones. This is a fine, ageworthy style that should flesh out and knit together well with a year or two in bottle, at which point this score may look conservative.
A beautifully reductive nose smoulders with hints of flint, smoke and molten candlewax but also gives glimpses of ripe stone fruit and lemon. The palate carries on in this rich vein that suggests sumptuousness but is in fact rather sculpted. Yes, this manages to present a beautifully profound, rich but utterly precise vision of the 2012 vintage that shows off freshness, sinuousness and beautiful ripeness. Still dew fresh. Lay down or enjoy now.
A fragrant nose with aromas of apples, pears, brioche and candied citrus. Round, silky and balanced with fine bubbles and a flavorful, minerally finish. Full-bodied with a creamy texture and wonderfully soft fruit. Highlights the balance of the 2012 vintage. A blend of 54% chardonnay and 46% pinot noir. Drink or hold.
Very pale gold, plenty of lively mousse on pouring. Intense, rich and inviting toasty aroma, deep and yeasty with ripe lemon and clementine freshness of fruit. Terrific combination of intensity and freshness on the palate, the marked autolytic character giving an impression of sweetness even though it tastes dry. Toasty on the palate and there's still lovely citrus fruit at the core. Fine mousse, vibrant freshness through the deep and long flavours. 2021 - 2030
Two of the great grand cru villages of the Montagne de Reims (Mailly and Verzenay) contribute the majority of the powerful Pinot Noir, which at 56% of the blend, pips Chardonnay to the post, in terms of volume at least. The Chardonnay has equally impressive grand cru provenance, the villages of Avize and Chouilly lending notes of honeysuckle, lemon posset and orchard fruit. The ensemble has been dosed at just under 6g/L and is therefore labelled as Extra Brut. The texture is accordingly generous but does not lack for the rigour of a long mineral finish. Very composed. From the gold colour, the gentle honeyed seduction on the nose and all the way through to the almond and brioche finish, this is a terrific Henriot, very Henriot in style, by which one means generous, alluring and incredibly elegant, all three epithets equally relevant in the description of this terrific vintage. 2022 - 2032
