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  • Country ranking ?

    312
  • Producer ranking ?

    15
  • Decanting time

    25min
  • When to drink

    now to 2040
  • Food Pairing

    seafood platter & lobster served with a vegetable consommé

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The Story

Cristal Rosé was first born a hundred years after the original Cristal, in 1974. It is an intriguing and particular prestige cuvée rosé, as it has the palest colour, yet a contrastingly fleshy, fruity, well-built palate of amazing freshness. Its secret is in the 60 per cent Pinot Noir from two hectares of Roederer’s own old-vine vineyards in Aÿ, Bonotte-Pierre-Robert and La Côte du Moulin, which are now cultivated according to biodynamic princ...

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Wine Information

I have written about what Louis Roederer’s magician, more prosaically known as the chef de cave, Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, has done with biodynamics, so I won’t repeat myself here.

Suffice to say that it is just one more piece of the jigsaw puzzle that makes these wines so utterly compelling. Lecaillon, who has been chef de cave since 1999 after stints in both Tasmania and California, also works closely with clones to combat climate change.

...

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Vintage 2012

The next most exceptional vintage since 2008. A truly difficult growing season saw severe frosts in the winter. March brought warmth but early budbreak made the vines vulnerable to spring frosts. Overall, the early growing season was wet, and mildew became a serious issue. However, conditions improved dramatically in the later summer months. An August heatwave resulted in a rapid accumulation of sugar, but fortunately the nights remained cool,...

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

11 tasting notes

Tasting note

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Written Notes

This 2012 incarnation is indeed a wine from heaven. For me there is focus, length (incredible length), pristine balance, and what they call the wow factor. Those intangibles that just lift a wine above those around it, thrilling and leaving the fortunate consumer entranced.

This is such a wine. Florals, citrus zest, rose petals, a hint of raspberries. Elegance dancing with generosity. 100 points. How could one give it anything else in good faith? A very special champagne.

  • 100p

This shines with acidity, a fine china-like frame for the ripe and aromatic nectarine and raspberry fruit flavors on display in this expressive sparkling rosé. Hints of red licorice, tar-tinged smoke, star anise and orange peel accent the rich fruit profile, riding the chalky mousse flavors and lingering on the mouthwatering finish. 

  • 96p

The 2012 Cristal Rosé is magnificent. When Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon started to move Roederer towards organically farmed fruit, he started with Cristal Rosé, Roederer’s smallest production cuveé. Because of that, Cristal Rosé is the wine in this range that shows the current Roederer style in its fullest expression. Rich, vivid and crystalline in the glass, the 2012 Cristal Rosé is a Champagne of tremendous gravitas. Chalk, white flowers, sweet red berry fruit, mint and blood orange are all beautifully delineated. The 2012 is 55% Pinot from Ay and 45% Chardonnay from Mesnil and Avize. The Pinot fruit gets a 7-10 day cold soak an is the infused into the fermenting Chardonnay musts. Readers who can find the 2012 should not hesitate, as it is truly magical. Dosage is 8 grams per liter.

  • 98p

“Disgorged January 2019.
Paler than the 2008 rosé. Straight up the nose with raciness and transparency. Some Riesling energy! Long and hugely impressive. Lowest dosage ever. Great stuff. Tastes sweet and already flirtatious.”

  • 95p

Roederer Cristal Rosé 2012 / “Already upon launch this rosé shows rare harmony and seamlessness. It is opulently fruity and exuberantly Pinot-packed yet at the same time seductively silky-textured. The voluminous palate is perfectly integrated to the wine’s superb freshness that carries it to a great length. Structured whilst soft and comes with Cristal Rosé’s hallmark elegance and radiance. Highly enjoyable already but with great long-term ageing capacity. A perfect reflection of the vintage’s best qualities.”

  • 97p

Bright, delicate salmon rose colour. The nose is pronounced yet very elegant and complex. It charms with perfumey and spicy tones but does not reveal its all colours yet. Seductively mysterious. A sip of the wine fills the palate with pure vibrant and delicate mousse with silky texture. Very intense, smooth and long-lasting palate is so harmonious that it leaves behind the sensation of perfection. Sheer pleasure already now but will blow your mind after 5-8 years ageing. Decant for 15 minutes and serve it 10-12C in a great company. This is champagne for pleasure and meditation. Forget food!  JL 99p (10/2019) (the commercial release of Cristal 2012 will be during the spring 2020)

  • 99p
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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

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Cristal

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Vintage

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