Louis Roederer - Brut Champagne Cristal 2012 (1.5L)

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Louis Roederer Description

Champagne Louis Roederer was founded in 1776 in Reims, France and is one of the rare family owned companies, which is still managed by the Roederer family. Today, the company is under the helm of Jean-Claude Rouzaud and his son Frédéric who continue to place quality before quantity.

Champagne Louis Roederer is one of the only French champagne producers to own nearly 75 percent of the grapes in the most desirable vineyards in the Champagne.

For each vintage wine, they choose from as many as 40 different wines from several lots for the blend.

James Suckling: 98 Points

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.

Vinous: 98 Points

A View from the Cellar: 98 Points

The 2012 vintage of Cristal is the first to be produced entirely from Demeter-certified, biodynamically-farmed fruit, which is a landmark for Maison Roederer. The future is now here! I have been looking forward to this release of this vintage of Cristal for a few years now, but sadly found myself not in top form to appreciate its debut, as I was so suffering from jet lag after my three weeks on the road in November that my energy level was no match for this beautiful young wine. The 2012 Cristal is its customary cépages of sixty percent pinot noir and forty percent chardonnay and none of the vins clairs went through malo this year, with one-third of the blend barrel-fermented. The wine was finished in 2012 with a dosage of 7.5 grams per liter and offers up a beautiful young nose of pear, apple, fresh lemon, white flowers, a very complex base of chalky minerality, a hint of the caraway seed to come and a topnote of white flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nascently complex, with a racy girdle of acidity, a rock solid core, impeccable focus and grip, refined mousse and stunning length and grip on the poised and perfectly balanced finish. This is another great vintage of Cristal in the making, but it deserves plenty of time in the cellar to blossom properly.