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Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Cristal 2012

$379.99
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This banner vintage is the first 100% biodynamic vintage. It has all the elegance you expect of Cristal, but with a unique power, a depth that suggests this will be an incredibly long lived wine.

Louis Roederer is one of the largest family-owned and run Champagne houses—and one of the oldest. Because they've been purchasing land for nearly 250 years, they've amassed valuable land all over Champagne; they are able to pick and choose which parcel goes into which cuvée, taking into account the specifics of each plot.

Founded in 1776, by the 19th century Louis Roederer was named the official wine supplier to the Russian court, by Tsar Nicholas II. They were among the first major Champagne houses to produce a tête de cuvée—the famed Cristal was first released in 1945.

These days, Roederer is acclaimed for their rigorous standards in farming—with nearly a third of their 590 acres farmed biodynamically, they are the largest biodynamic grower in Champagne. Nearly every cuvée they produce is made from estate fruit; the one exception is the Brut Premier, which includes roughly 20% bought fruit, purchased from farmers with whom they have long term contracts.

Professional Reviews

Antonio Galloni

AG 98
"The 2012 Cristal is another absolutely stellar wine this flight of recent releases. Rich, vinous and beautifully textured, the 2012 has been nothing short of magnificent on the three occasions I have tasted it so far. In the glass, the 2012 is radiant and luscious, yet it possesses remarkable transparency and striking aromatic depth. Light tropical notes develop in the glass, giving the 2012 a real feeling of exotic beauty. The 2012 is the first vintage of Cristal done with 100% organically-farmed fruit, an approach introduced gradually starting with the 2007 that has profoundly changes Cristal, especially in its aromatic breadth. Two thousand twelve is the vintage where endless trials and experiments in farming and winemaking are fully realized."

Robert Parker

RP 97
"Aromas of clear honey, crisp green orchard fruit, white peach, pastry cream and dried white flowers introduce the 2012 Cristal, a full-bodied, concentrated and powerful wine that's built for the cellar. Broader, more textural and more muscular than the 2008 Cristal, with seemingly even greater reserves of structuring dry extract, the 2012 is incisive and searingly chalky. This is the first Cristal produced exclusively from organically farmed fruit, and it marks the opening of a new chapter for Louis Roderer." -William Kelley

Wine Spectator

WS 97
"A classic beauty, fresh-faced and focused today but with a harmonious grace of form suggesting a long career ahead. There's a creamy, viscous quality to the mousse that swathes the palate, carrying finely detailed flavors of poached quince, Mandarin orange preserves, toasted almond and pickled ginger. Mouthwatering throughout, with a pleasing, soft zestiness to the mineral-laced finish."

Wine Enthusiast

WE 98
"As the first 100% biodynamic Cristal, entirely from Roederer-owned vineyards, this is an important milestone. This latest incarnation is a great Champagne with its density, elegance and poise. Still impressively young, the wine is taut, tightly wound and textured. At the same time, it has pure, ripe white and citrus fruits that are perfumed, and an important part of this wine’s long-term future. Drink at the earliest from 2023. Organic and biodynamic."

Details

  • Grape Variety

    Chardonnay , Pinot Noir

  • Vintage

    2012

  • Size

    750ml

  • Farming Practice

    Biodynamic

  • Style

    Elegant

  • Sweetness

    Champagne Brut , Dry

  • Body

    Medium Bodied

Customer Reviews

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