2012 Champagne Vintage

Winter set the tone. A fairly mild January gave way to a brutal cold snap in February: minus 10 C on the 2nd, minus 20 C on the 4th, and repeated readings between minus 15 and minus 20 C until the 12th, with minus 20.9 C recorded at Reims on the 4th and minus 18 C at Verzenay. The vineyard averaged more than 9 days of frost at minus 10 C, against a ten-year norm of 1.1 days, and the cold left diffuse winter damage. A very mild March brought a relatively early budburst for Chardonnay at the very start of April, while the other two varieties lagged. Spring frosts followed on five nights between 8 April and 17 May, the most destructive on 17 April and 17 May. The frost destroyed the equivalent of 2,900 hectares, and Chardonnay was the variety hit hardest. Rain was relentless: April to July brought 343 mm, a record since 1994 and almost 60% above normal. Flowering, long and drawn out in June, took place in very cool weather with extremely low sunshine, and the cold, rainy conditions left few bunches with few berries per bunch. About ten hailfalls struck between 11 April and 15 July, the worst on 7 June in the Cote des Bar, and hail in June and July ravaged a further 1,000 hectares. Downy mildew touched almost every plot, with losses estimated at 5 to 10% of the crop potential, and powdery mildew added losses estimated under 5%. The season as a whole was cool and fairly wet. The weather turned hot and dry from mid-July, though the Comite Champagne dated the sunny, dry spell from the start of August and Wine Spectator placed the turnaround in mid-August. A short heatwave from 17 to 19 August pushed temperatures above 35 C and left sunburn symptoms in the vineyard, with some Cote des Bar growers reporting up to 30% damage at plot level. The water balance from mid-July to 20 September was the lowest recorded in the vineyard since 1994, and grey rot was almost entirely absent. Picking, all by hand with some 120,000 pickers, was expected to start from mid-September depending on the cru, with exceptions for the earliest parcels. Wine Spectator gave 10 September as the start of picking, and the harvest took place in the second half of September, with rain in its final weeks swelling the berries. The available yield was set at 11,000 kg/ha with a crop forecast 30% below 2011; the agronomic yield came to near 9,000 kg/ha, about 40% below the ten-year agronomic average and the smallest since 2003.

• February cold hit minus 20.9 C at Reims on the 4th; spring frosts on five nights from 8 April to 17 May destroyed the equivalent of 2,900 hectares
• April to July rain totalled 343 mm, a record since 1994; flowering in June was long, cool and short on sunshine
• Hail from 11 April to 15 July, worst on 7 June in the Cote des Bar, cost a further 1,000 hectares; downy mildew touched almost every plot
• Hot and dry from mid-July, with heat above 35 C on 17 to 19 August; available yield 11,000 kg/ha, agronomic yield near 9,000 kg/ha

The losses were uneven across the appellation. The February freeze led to bud cuts in the coldest sectors, notably the north face of the Montagne de Reims, while the Barrois was less affected. Spring frost reached 131 communes: the Barsequanais paid the heaviest price with 17% losses, followed by the Aisne at 14%, then the Bar-sur-Aubois, the Perthois, the Bouzy-Ambonnay sector and the Cote des Blancs at 10%, for about 9% across the whole vineyard. The Aisne also received up to 200% of its normal rainfall around Conde en Brie, and the Barsequanais 180%. The 7 June hail in the Cote des Bar shredded shoots with an intensity rarely seen, and 2012 ranks among the leading hail years, with losses equal to 3% of the planted area, double the ten-year average.

• Frost losses: Barsequanais 17%, Aisne 14%, Bar-sur-Aubois, Perthois, Bouzy-Ambonnay and Cote des Blancs 10%; about 9% overall
• February freeze: minus 18 C at Verzenay, with bud cuts on the north face of the Montagne de Reims
• Hail losses equal to 1,000 hectares came to 3% of the planted area, double the ten-year average
• Total losses came to about 40% of the crop potential: half to flowering problems and sunburn, a quarter to disease

Bollinger made a La Grande Annee 2012, an assembly of 21 crus, mostly Ay and Verzenay for the 65% Pinot Noir and Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oiry for the 35% Chardonnay, fermented entirely in oak barrels with a dosage of 8 grams per litre. The wine spent seven years on lees and was disgorged in May 2019; Bollinger skipped the 2009, 2010 and 2011 vintages and made even less 2012 than 2008. Guy de Rivoire of Bollinger called 2012 an "extreme" year, and April frosts cut the house's yields to 8,000 kg/ha. At Nicolas Feuillatte, chef de cave David Henault told Harpers the house could not make its top wine, Palmes d'Or, in 2010 or 2011, "but we will definitely do in 2012."

• Bollinger La Grande Annee 2012: 21 crus, 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay, fermented in oak, 8 grams per litre dosage
• Bollinger yields: 8,000 kg/ha after April frosts; less wine made than in 2008
• Nicolas Feuillatte: the house would make its Palmes d'Or in 2012, after none in 2010 or 2011

Wine Spectator's November 2012 report found that the frost and hail that reduced the crop meant the harvested grapes often showed better concentration, and that the fruit was generally healthy, with good levels of acidity balanced by ripe sugar content and flavors. Richard Geoffroy, chef de cave of Dom Perignon, said: "In July we were so gloomy." Harpers noted that it was too early for a clear consensus, but that after the assemblage a good number of Champenois were comparing 2012 to 1959, 1969 and 1990. Damien Le Sueur, director of production for Taittinger, said "what seems clear about 2012 is that it meets all the requirements to be a great vintage", and at Henri Abele potential alcohol reached the 10% level the house aims for, with acidity of roughly 9 g/l. Bollinger calls its 2012 full, lively and complex, and its chef de cave Gilles Descotes called 2012 "the best harvest of my life". Quill & Pad judged 2012 a little richer, more forward and more exuberant than 2008.

• Wine Spectator: frost and hail reduced the crop, and the harvested grapes often showed better concentration
• Henri Abele: potential alcohol at 10%, acidity roughly 9 g/l
• Harpers: some Champenois compared 2012 to 1959, 1969 and 1990, though a clear consensus was too early
• Quill & Pad: 2012 judged a little richer, more forward and more exuberant than 2008