Co-op, Les Pionniers, Champagne, France, 2012

A complex, yeasty nose of wheat crackers and lemons, dried apricots, bruised apples and sour dough. Creamy and intense, with plenty of buttered brioche, roasted nuts, yellow apple and tangerine peels on the palate with sharp acidity as the backbone, followed by a long, biscuity finish. This is a quality 2012 vintage Champagne of exceptional value.