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Champagne Ayala

Le Blanc de Blancs 2012

Champagne, France

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Ayala’s Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay, produced in small quantities in exceptional years only and fully expresses the superb caliber of great Chardonnay from the best crus of the Côte des Blancs. It is truly a unique vintage offering.

The 2012 vintage is sourced from 3 Grand Cru villages on the Cote des Blancs: Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Chouilly and Cramant. After 6 years of aging in Ayala’s cellars, remarkable minerality and low dosage make this an outstanding wine that can accompany a variety of flavorful dishes, or stand on its own.

Vineyard

Ayala Blanc de Blancs 2012 is 100% Chardonnay from 3 Premier and Grand Cru villages on the Côte des Blancs: Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Chouilly and Cremant. Ayala currently owns 35 acres in Champagne. Thanks to its privileged location in the heart of the Grand Crus of Montagne de Reims and their link to Bollinger, they also have unique access to top quality grapes.

Winemaking

Everything from grape reception to vinification, aging, riddling and disgorgement is done at the Ayala cellars. The Blanc des Blancs rests on the lees in the cellar for 6 years after disgorgement, in order to develop complexity, intensity and roundness on the palate.

Tasting Note

Subtle and inviting, this wine is focused and features delicate aromas of white flowers, citrus, clear honey and frangipane. Offering both balance and volume, the flavors on the palate show great coherence with the aromas, marked by notes of lemon zest and white flowers. Its silky texture gives it an ethereal quality that lingers on the fine mineral finish.

Food Pairing

The purity of its aromatic character makes Blanc de Blancs 2012 the perfect epicurean apéritif, but it can also pair well with a variety of white fish, like turbot or john dory. Ideal to complement a wild sea bass with lemon butter, a pink peppercorn seasoned sea scallop carpaccio or lobster in a vanilla sauce.

Vintage

Particular climatic conditions yielded a remarkably healthy crop at harvest. The 2012 vintage reminds us of the best: the generosity of 2002 mixed with the tension of 2008. Expert sorting of fruit from some of the finest vineyards in Champagne helped assure that the 2012 vintage would turn out especially concentrated.

Color

White

Grape Varieties

Chardonnay

Appellation

Champagne, France

Farming

Ayala encourages their growers to use organic fertilizers and avoid insecticides, herbicides and pesticides.

Alcohol

12.7%

Suggested Retail Price

$110.00

Reviews

93

James Suckling - January 14, 2019 “Super attractive aromas of chalky, fine, lemon pastry and pears with a subtle mineral thread. The palate has a very attractive array of fine, smooth peaches and citrus fruit and delivers a plush, elegant and finely focused palate. Beautifully fresh blanc de blancs.”

96

The ripeness of the 2012 vintage dovetails perfectly in this wine with the non-malo style at Champagne Ayala!

View from the Cellar, John Gilman - July 5, 2019 Ayala Le Blanc de Blancs 2012 is one of the finest bottles I have ever tasted from this excellent house. The wine spent five years aging sur latte and was disgorged in March of 2018 (I do not have information on its dosage, but it was judicious). The bouquet is pure and beautifully expressive already, wafting from the glass in a refined mix of delicious apple, pear, fresh almond, chalky minerality, hints of the smokiness to come and a lovely topnote of white lilies. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with lovely mid-palate depth, refined mousse and excellent length and grip on the poised and vibrant finish. The ripeness of the 2012 vintage dovetails perfectly in this wine with the nonmalo style at Champagne Ayala! 2019-2040+. John Gilman, View from the Cellar

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