100-Point Release: 2012 Rare Champagne Brut Millésime

We are delighted to offer a stellar new release from the tremendous 2012 Champagne vintage: the Rare Champagne Brut Millésime 2012.

Rated 100 points by James Suckling, who calls this “One of the best 2012s released” (high praise indeed, given the overall quality of the vintage), this is a gem.

Born at Piper-Heidsieck in 1976 and now a standalone house, Rare Champagne releases small quantities of top-quality cuvées only in exceptional years. The 2012, a blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir aged a minimum of ten years on the lees, is another superb and very exciting wine.

For Suckling, it’s perfect. He calls it “Precise on every level. Haute couture. Sophisticated. What a great Champagne can be” and gives it a flawless score.

100 Points James Suckling

One of the best 2012s released. This is so fresh and transparent, with superb clarity and brightness. Subtle aromas of mangoes, apples, some pie crust and crushed stones that follow through to a medium body with a tight palate and an endless finish. Precise on every level. Haute couture. Sophisticated. What a great Champagne can be. Released in magnum June 2026. Disgorged February 2025. Drink or hold. (2026)

Key Facts

• Producer: Rare Champagne (formerly Piper-Heidsieck Rare), Reims
• Vintage: 2012
• Blend: 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir
• Lees ageing: Minimum 10 years
• Disgorged: February 2025
• Format: 3x75cl
• Critics: 100 points James Suckling
• Drinking window: Drink now or hold

Please find below the wines we are currently offering