Veuve Clicquot "La Grande Dame" 2012 [Limited Edition Artist Collaboration with Yayoi Kusama]
(Champagne, France) - [WE 96] [DM 96] [WS 95] [JS 94] [VM 93]

Notes from the Winemaker::
Yayoi Kusama adorns the La Grande Dame 2012 case and bottle with her iconic symbols. The opulent flower symbolizes vital energy, love and celebration of life.
The polka dots, Yayoi Kusama's signature patterns, are reworked like champagne bubbles to embody La Grande Dame 2012.

Previously in 2006, Yayoi Kusama had already played with her famous polka dots by revivifying the original portrait of Madame Clicquot for a charity auction in Tokyo. So, the dialogue between the artist and the Maison has never stopped and has reached another milestone in its most inspiring and sharing ways.

About the Wine:
La Grande Dame, is a showcase of the House’s excellence. It perfectly expresses its love for Pinot Noir, which since the 2008 vintage, has represented over 90% of the blend. The responsibility that lies on the shoulders of the Cellar Master is to glorify this grape and strike the right balance so that it expresses itself through its refined, elegant, light, delicate, yet powerful character, with firmness, extreme subtlety and a certain restraint. It is a tribute to Madame Clicquot and to the creative and elegant souls who have followed in her footsteps. A wine to reflect the image of La Grande Dame herself. Madame Clicquot used her determination, intuition and vision to choose and acquire exceptional parcels in the villages Bouzy, Verzenay and Verzy, all of which would later go on to obtain the prestigious Grand Cru classification.

”La Grande Dame 2012 is a wine that is both precise and delicate. It is playful, lively, laughing. This new vintage offers a strong minerality carried by Pinot Noir balanced with the freshness of the blend. Its aging potential is immense, it is a wine whose tasting makes me vibrate.”
Didier Mariotti, Veuve Clicquot Cellar Master

La Grande Dame 2012 blend is made mainly from grapes from historical Grands Crus vineyards, among the most prestigious in Champagne. Pinot Noir dominates the blend at 90%, magnified by 10% Chardonnay, with grapes from Aÿ, Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay, Bouzy. The 10% Chardonnay comes from the Grands Crus Avize and Mesnil-sur-Oger.

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96 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"With a slight preponderance of Pinot Noir in the blend, this wine is rich and impressive. It is still young, with a crisp edge that makes the fruit shine. Apple and citrus flavors are integrated into a mineral vein. Drink from 2022." - RV (12/1/2020)

96 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"A generous golden colour betrays the dominance of Pinot Noir in the blend; this theme thereafter maintained by aromatics of fig, wild strawberries and Mirabelle plums; behind that, jasmine, red apples and a distant whiff of woodsmoke. Engaging already, in other words. One’s impressions are confirmed and amplified on the palate, with the aspiration voiced by both chef de caves Dominique and Didier, to allow the ‘cooler’ Pinot Noir sites full rein. This is eloquently evidenced by a subtle and deftly textured structure, the primary fruit notes of nectarine and citrus peel underscored by a richer, still somewhat reticent, core, darker and more savoury of intent and oh, so subtle at the moment. I have every confidence that this characteristic will come into its own over the longer term and mark the 2012 as one of the more successful outings for this outstanding cuvée. Drinking Window 2020 - 2036." -Simon Field MW (10/20)

95 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Fine and graceful, this dances across the palate with its bright, well-defined freshness and detailed flavors of Mandarin orange, toast point, crème de cassis and minerally oyster shell. Subtle in its intensity, with all the pieces seamlessly knit into an elegant whole. Disgorged September 2019. Drink now through 2030." - AN

94 Points - James Suckling:
"Aromas of lime zest, lemon and brioche follow through to a full body with a round, creamy texture, fine bubbles and a delicious finish. Direct and focused 2012. Lots of elegance and energy in this. Drink or hold." (4/1/2021)

93 Points - Vinous Media:
"The 2012 La Grande Dame is terrific. In fact, it is one of the finest recent Grande Dames I can remember tasting. Vibrant and tense, the 2012 exudes energy. At this stage, the natural richness of the 2012 vintage is hidden behind the wine's bright, salivating acids. Green apple, pear, mint and white pepper add a brilliant aromatic top register. I would cellar the 2012 for at least a few years." - Antonio Galloni (11/2020)