Editors notes
Minéral is blended from two adjacent vieilles vignes plots (50+ years old) of similar, chalky, Grand Cru soils on the border between Avize and Cramant. The fruit from Le Champ Boutons in Avize is fermented in tank, while the component from Bionnes in Cramant is vinified in 600-litre oak casks. Dosage is 3 g/L and the wine has spent some 70 months on lees. This is always the saltiest, racy, mineral wine in the Agrapart range and the 2012 is simply a blinder, as you might expect from such a great vintage. Fans of this wine should not hesitate. In a few years, with time on cork, it will be even greater.
Details
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Wine Type
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Vintage
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Variety
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Brand
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Location
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Cellaring
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Alcohol Percentage
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Oak Type
Tasting Profile
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Light (Light)Full (Full)
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Low Tannin (Low Tannin)Tannic (Tannic)
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Sweet (Sweet)Dry (Dry)
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Low Acidity (Low Acidity)High Acidity (High Acidity)
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Aroma
- Apple
- Lemon
- Nectarine
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Palate
- Apple
- Cream
- Peach
Food Pairings
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Poultry
Critic Scores & reviews
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Antonio Galloni
95"The 2012 Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Minéral is superb. Powerful and ample in the glass, the Minéral is both broad on the palate and also somehow incredibly refined in feel, an appealing combination to be sure. There is so much to admire in the 2012, including its exceptional sense of total harmony. Dried flowers, almond, mint and dried apricot are all nicely layered in the glass, but again, it is the wine's poise that is truly mesmerizing. The Minéral is a blend of old-vine fruit taken from sites in Avize (Les Champboutons) and Cramant (Les Bionnes)."
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The Wine Advocate
95"Disgorged in April 2019 with three grams per liter dosage, the 2012 Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Extra Brut Minéral is showing brilliantly, bursting from the glass with aromas of ripe citrus fruit, warm bread, green apples and crushed chalk. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, chiseled and incisive, with a tensile, chalky core that displays considerable concentration and structuring dry extract, as well as a racy spine of acidity. This comes warmly recommended."
Other vintages
Love this wine? Here's a list of other vintages we have in stock if you'd like to try them as well.
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- Variety Chardonnay
- Vintage 2015
- Brand Agrapart
- Cellaring 5-10 Years
- Wine Type Sparkling
- Alcohol Percentage 12.0% Alcohol
Agrapart Mineral Extra Brut Blanc De Blancs Grand Cru 2015-
Antonio Galloni95 points
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The Wine Advoca95 points
$269.01
Current auction
All current auctions for this wine & any different vintages.
Locations
France
Wine is being produced throughout France and has been done for over 2,500 years with certain Châteaux dating their history back to Roman times, around 6th Century BC. Ranking second in the world in per-capita consumption and first in total production quantity. More so than the overall quantity of wine is the quantity of truly great wines coming out of France makes the nation the envy of wine-making nations worldwide.
Two concepts pivotal to the higher end French wines, in particular, are the idea of 'terroir' and the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system. Terroir refers to the way the geography, geology and climate find their way into the glass, telling a story of the origin of the wine. The AOC was set up in 1935 and has the primary goal of protecting the authenticity of the wines and the livelihoods of the producers. Appellation rules strictly define which varieties of grapes and winemaking practices are approved for classification in each of France's several hundred geographically defined appellations, which can cover entire regions, individual villages or in some cases, like in Burgundy even specific vineyards.
Classic wine regions in France include Champagne (home of Champagne), Burgundy (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot), Alsace (Aromatic varietals), Loire Valley (Chenin Blanc, Crémant) and the Rhône Valley (Syrah, Grenache Mourvedre)
The Bordeaux classification of 1855 is still in use, as is the Sauternes and Barsac Classification of the same year. Wines from certain regions can be bought En Primeur, which is when the wine is sold prior to it being bottled.
Champagne
Champagne is a wine region to the north-east of Paris where wine has been grown since the Romans first planted in the 5th century and the region is most well known for the sparkling wine that goes by the regions name.
Champagne is made from 3 grapes. The two red grapes Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and the white grape Chardonnay. All three are commonly blended though a ‘blanc de blanc’ meaning ‘white from white’ indicates that only Chardonnay was used. Conversely a ‘blanc de noir’ or ‘white from black’ indicates that the two red grapes were used.
A common misconception is that Champagne was invented by Dom Pérignon. Although this is not the case, he made considerable contributions to the quality and production methods used in the region. The very first bottles of Champagne were created by accident, and coined ‘the devil’s wine’ for all the popping corks. Sparkling wine in Australia was referred to as Champagne but this practise has long been disallowed.
Methode Champenoise is the traditional method by which Champagne is produced and if you see Millisime on a bottle, it represents the fact that the wine comes from a particular vintage rather than being blended, which is the more common practice.
Icons such as Dom Pérignon and Kristal are world reknowned, but we find as much pleasure in the smaller Champagne houses such as Gosset and Jacquinot. Magnums are perfect for the festive occasions and half bottles are also available.
Avize
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