Cristal Champagne 2012 750ml

Originally vinted in 1809 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia, 200 years later it is still the ultimate Champagne; an icon of luxury, style and taste. This 2012 is exceptional, receiving top scores across the board.

2012 was one of the most challenging and complicated years ever experienced in Champagne. However, difficult conditions often lead to great things. The low yields, due to the unpredictable weather, combined with continental conditions towards the end of the season, gave unusual levels of maturity, resulting in rich, full-bodied and structured wines worthy of the greatest vintages in Champagne. And this was one of the greatest Roederer Crystals garnering raves reviews.

Critical Acclaim

98 Wine Enthusiast 

As the first 100 percent 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.

98 James Suckling

Such attractive, fresh, floral aromas here with fine bread, hints of white almonds and a lemon edge. White cherries and strong, chalky minerals, too. The palate has a very composed feel. Seamless and quite silky texture with effortless length and flow. Very fluid and composed. Very late, warming almond flavors. This is very long and smooth with a velvety finish. Super long pinot weight. Resolved and drinkable, but will age so well.

98 Vinous

The 2012 Cristal is another absolutely stellar wine in this flight of recent releases. Rich, vinous and beautifully textured, 2012 has been nothing short of magnificent on the three occasions I have tasted it so far. In the glass, 2012 is radiant and luscious, yet it possesses remarkable transparency and striking aromatic depth. Light tropical notes develop in the glass, giving 2012 a real feeling of exotic beauty. 2012 is the first vintage of Cristal done with 100% organically-farmed fruit, an approach introduced gradually starting with 2007 that has profoundly changed Cristal, especially in its aromatic breadth. Two thousand twelve is the vintage where endless trials and experiments in farming and winemaking are fully realized. 2012 is just stunning. It’s as simple as that. Dosage is just over 7 grams per liter, the lowest it has even been for Cristal.

97 Wine Advocate

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, 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. The blend is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, vinified without malolactic fermentation and disgorged with 7.5 grams per liter dosage. Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon has once again excelled himself.