Rare Champagne has surprised followers by releasing a 2012 vintage after the lauded 2013, which was awarded a Platinum medal at this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards.
Scroll down to see the Rare Champagne 2012 tasting note and score
The prestige cuvée was formerly under the Piper-Heidsieck banner, but has been flying solo since the 2006 release, becoming one of Champagne’s top-performing prestige cuvées in recent years.
The surprise release is a welcome bonus for Champagne lovers. But why turn the clock back and release 2012 at this late stage?
‘With 2012 and 2013, we had two jewels in our hand, but 2012 always had something else, something soulful. We felt it just needed a little more time,’ explains Rare’s cellar master Émilien Boutillat (also cellar master at Piper-Heidsieck).
‘It reminded us of 2002 – it’s close to perfection! That’s why we kept it back.’
A unique blend
Typically the Côte des Blancs sings loudest in prestige cuvée Chardonnay, but here the Côte is on backing vocals, contributing a minority share of the Chardonnay that makes up 70% of the Rare final blend.
Instead, Rare’s unique DNA originates from the terroirs of the north and eastern parts of the Montagne de Reims, particularly Chardonnay from the village of Villers-Marmery, known for its slightly more exotic, perfumed Chardonnay.
Decanter newsletter
Get our daily fine wine reviews, latest wine ratings, news and travel guides delivered straight to your inbox.
‘This part of the Montagne de Reims has been the core of Rare since the beginning,’ explains Boutillat. ‘It’s perfect because we can express all the generosity of warmer vintages whilst keeping the zinginess’.
Pinot Noir makes up the remaining 30%, sourced from the villages of Verzy, Verzenay, Aÿ, Ambonnay and Villedommange.
A difficult vintage
The 2012 vintage has assumed legendary status in Champagne, showing incredible concentration both of ripe fruit and acidity, despite a difficult vintage.
Growers have faced a season equally – if not more – difficult in 2024, but perhaps they have had 2012’s wonderful results in mind to get them through the toughest parts of this year.
‘We had everything we didn’t want in the vineyards in 2012,’ Boutillat remembers. ‘Frost, mildew, hail. It was a small yield, concentrated and mature but not overripe. It was warmer than 2013 for sure, but the selection of terroirs was perfect for keeping the freshness.’
With a decade on lees since then-cellar master Régis Camus put the blend together, Rare 2012 emerges more expressive than the more tensile, restrained 2013, but it is equally impressive.
Rare Champagne is never difficult or demanding in its youth. However, as the highly regarded 2002 vintage enters a beautiful drinking window, the prospect of the 2012 evolving just as confidently over the coming decades is a tantalising one.
Rare Champagne masterclass at Decanter London Fine Wine Encounter
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)
Book tickets for a vertical tasting of iconic vintages of Rare Champagne.
A Champagne of great intensity and concentration, pure citrus oil, candied lemon and toasty exotic fruit. It's exceptionally soft and satin-like, creamy and comforting, then...
Tom Hewson writes about Champagne and sparkling wine. He authored the Tim Atkin Champagne Special Report in 2022, featuring over 600 wines and insights from five weeks spent in the region. As well as writing freelance, reviewing and presenting sparkling wines, Tom runs his own newsletter Six Atmospheres, reaching Champagne and sparkling wine enthusiasts all over the world every week.
