Rare (Piper-Heidsieck) Brut Rosé Champagne 2012

100 points Bettane & Desseauve Guide (2024).

97 points James Suckling: "Pale salmon-copper color with aromas of raspberries, fresh and dried cherries, rose-water, grapefruit, salted almonds, cloves and white pepper. Silky and vibrant, with very fine bubbles and bright acidity. Beautiful combination of fresh fruit and subtle spice. Lingering, salted yellow-plum notes on the long, elegant finish. Dry. 8% pinot noir red wine from Les Riceys, blended with 40% pinot noir and 60% chardonnay, from 12 different villages. 7g/l. Drink or hold. (8/8/22)"

96+ points Audrey Frick (JebDunnuck.com): "[$499 list] The 2012 Champagne Rare Rosé is a shimmering salmon hue and is elegant and restrained at the moment. It has a floral perfume of hibiscus, orange blossoms, white peach, and smoky incense. The palate is energetic and has more tension, with a fantastic chalky texture. It opens up with orchard fruits and honeycomb, and its floral notes linger long after the finish. Though it is a little shy now, this is an exciting release from the team at Piper-Heidsieck. Drink 2024-2044.Emilien Boutillat took over as Chef de Cave for Regis Camus in 2018. A native to Champagne, Mr. Boutillat has a versatile background in winemaking, having worked for several wineries across the globe, including at such prestigious estates as Chateau Margaux in Bordeaux and Peter Michael in Sonoma, California. He also spent time in Chile, Châteauneuf du Pape, and Franschhoek, South Africa, where he made Cap Classique (sparkling wines). There are several exciting new releases from the house, including the most recent, the second release of Hors-Serie from 1982. This is a reinterpretation of the previously released cuvée Sauvage, except disgorged 30 years later in 2022. Mr. Boutillat also selected to use wine from magnums of Piper-Heidsieck 1982 to top up the bottles of Hors-Serie after disgorgement, as the liqueur d’expedition. There were 2500 bottles produced, and the house is putting together 500 gift packs that will offer a side by side of the 1982 Brut Sauvage and the 1982 Hors-Serie. These two unique expressions are a treat to taste simultaneously, though they offer very different applications at the table. Drink: 2024-2044. (11/7/22)"

96 points Tyson Stelzer (The Champagne Guide): "(tasted in 2022 and 2023 in France; 60% chardonnay, 40% pinot noir, including 8% pinot noir red wine from Les Riceys for strength of colour; 12 crus: Villers-Marmery, Vertus, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Chouilly, Avize in Chardonnay; Verzy, Ay, Verzenay, Ambonnay, Villedommange in Pinot Noir and Les Riceys in pinot noir red wine; disgorged December 2021 with 7g/L dosage; fewer than 5000 bottles; cork). This is a cuvée that embraces the wonderful contrast of elegant freshness with confident concentration and persistence that defines Rare. It exemplifies Régis Camus' attentiveness to colour in a pretty medium salmon hue. A core of apple, pear and lemon embraces the chardonnay lead of Rare, subtly accented with the red apple, strawberry and red cherries of pinot noir. Primary, energetic and poised, it holds but very subtle nuances of evolution, with a wonderful marzipan accent and fabulous persistence. (Edition VII; 2024)"

96 points Wine Spectator: "Offers aromas and flavors of ripe raspberry and nectarine, brioche and chopped almond, mandarin orange and ground coffee, graphite, star anise and verbena, which are a gorgeous panoply of expression from the fragrant nose through to the finely detailed finish. This vibrant rosé Champagne is well-honed and mouthwatering, wrapping the chiseled frame in a plushly creamy mousse. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Drink now through 2037. 250 cases imported. (12/15/22)"

96 points Anne Krebiehl, MW (Falstaff): "The nose opens with notes of toast with blood orange overtones and something subtly meaty reminiscent of Parma ham. More air brings out much more orange notes, almost as of orange sherbet sweets. The palate packs a lovely punch, there is concentration and a lovely phenolic backbone, all is enhanced by vivid, fine mousse. Texture is key here and is felt all along the intensely salty umami finish. Alcohol 12%. (Jan 2022)"

95 points Tom Hewson (TimAtkin.com): "(Previously the Prestive cuvée of Piper-Heidsieck, now an independent brand. NM). 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir. This has quite a different makeup from the 2008, taking in more villages and just 8% red wine addition from Les Riceys. Together with 2012's more open stance, the end result is a rosé with a little more soft-focus, supple character, sweet-natured with fine nectarine and pink grapefruit and fragrant with raspberry macaroon. There's plenty of zesty focus and some nuance – pepper and subtle marine notes – but a surprising delicacy too. Tender and succulent. (2022)"

94 points/'Le Coup de Coeur,' La Revue du Vin de France: "The 2012 rosé is a lovely wine with fruity nuances, but also hibiscus and that oriental touch in the aromas. On the palate, the 70% chardonnay base gives it a fine, creamy feel. (2023)"

94 points Wine Enthusiast: "[$499 list] A wonderfully balanced Champagne, this is so poised between red fruits and tight acidity. It is only just mature, with fruit freshness still very present. It can be drunk now for its fruit or, better, wait a year or two to bring in mature complexity. Alcohol 12%. (Dec 2022)"