2012 Canard-Duchene Champagne Brut Millesime Authentic

2012 Canard-Duchene Champagne Brut Millesime Authentic This wine from France is blend of the two Pinots with Chardonnay, this Champagne is soft. Attractive fruitiness gets a boost from the crisp citrus edge. It is not yet showing any sign of aging and will probably be at its best from 2022.

2012 is a nice vintage for Canard-Duchène (and for many other producers). Although the three major grapes are in this blend it is the Chardonnay that brings forth lovely lemon acidity with underlying minerality from start to finish. The nose has more balance with soft berry fruit. Rather lean for a Canard.

Champagne Canard-Duchêne

The house was founded in 1868 by cooper Victor Canard and his wife Léonie Duchêne, who hailed from a family of winegrowers. They were granted the right by the Russian Imperial Family to carry their coat of arms on the label, a practice which continues to this day. The business headquarters has, since inception, been located in Ludes, on a hillside in the heart of the Montagne de Reims vineyards. This contrasts with most other Champagne houses, who are based in towns such as Reims or Épernay.

A full range of styles including Brut Nature and Demi-Sec are released in the standard tier. The Cuvée Léonie range is aimed at restaurants and is released with a little more maturity, and is comprised of a Brut, organic Brut (“Léonie Green”) and a Rosé. A further quintet of wines made predominantly from Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards top the portfolio and are labelled Grandes Cuvées Charles VII.

Canard-Duchêne is now part of the Thiénot group, which also owns Thiénot, Joseph Perrier and Marie Stuart, and the Bordeaux companies CVBG, Dourthe, Kressman and Delor.