Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2012 *100 POINTS!* *1 Bottle*

Description

Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2012
-- LOT OF 1 BOTTLE --
Because of alcohol shipping restrictions, please review the states we can ship to before placing your order.
Tasting Notes
Cristal is Louis Roederer’s flagship cuvée. It was created in 1876 and is composed of Grand Crus from the Montagne de Reims, the Marne Valley and the Côte des Blancs. Cristal 2008 was bottle-aged for 8 years before being left to rest for at least 8 months after disgorging in order to attain perfect maturity.
Amber hue with green and orange tints. Fine, even and lively sparkle. Complex and intense bouquet disclosing candied citrus, yellow fruit, Williams pear, pollen, and toasted almond. The delicately seductive bouquet shows intensity and well-honed precision. The wine is powerful, full yet tight, on entry to the palate. The 2008 is undeniably well structured but in a particular way: the wine’s almost saline concentration has not been created by the sun, but is derived from the dryness of the chalk soil in a particularly cool summer. The result is a smooth, almost liquorous, mouthfeel that coats the palate with a powerful yet soft texture. This gives way to an incredible finish, underpinned by freshness and an impression of absolute purity with a taut and very saline character. The Cristal 2008 is deep, intense and masterful. It offers the quintessential reflection of its chalk soils which lend it is velvety texture and delicate tension. This wine’s energy has been tamed by an unusually long period of bottle ageing: Cristal 2008 was in fact aged for 10 years before its release on the market. A first!
Blend: 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay
Critical Acclaim
WE
100
Wine Enthusiast
This latest incarnation of the famous brand is a superb wine. It is on par with, maybe even better than, the already legendary 2002. Its balance is impeccable: Apple and citrus flavors working with the tight minerality to give a textured yet fruity wine. Produced from Roederer's own vineyards which are mainly biodynamic, the wine has its own intense purity and crispness. It has amazing potential and is likely to age for many years. Drink from 2020.
Cellar Selection
JS
100
James Suckling
Disgorged October 2016 and will be the first Cristal to be released ten years from harvest when it is offered in 2018. 35 parcels used from a possible 45 in this vintage. The assemblage is 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay. This is so fresh and tense and mineral with extremely exuberant chardonnay notes on the nose of white peach, lemon and yellow grapefruit, and hints of almost brambly sous bois aromas. The yeast characters are also super fresh, and there are subtle woody notes, with a hint of vanilla bean and light spices. The palate is super long, and very pure, powerful and focused. It drives deep and taut. Pinot noir is a strong core and the chardonnay sits at the edge offering lemon and white nectarine sorbet flavors. Staggeringly concentrated, yet the balance makes it seem airy and light. Acidity is perfectly positioned, and the power is intense and long. This is an ultra precise Cristal, finishing with a mere suggestion of savoriness and warmth to come. Impressive on release, this will be at its best drinking from 2025.
JD
100
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2008 Cristal is a perfect wine, and Champagne simple does not get any better. This incredible wine offers a beautiful perfume of clean, crisp fruits, layers of complexity in its toasted spice and white flowers, and an utterly seamless, yet powerful style on the palate. This is a rich, decadent expression of Cristal yet it’s still crystalline and elegant, with no sensation of weight, and it just glides over the palate. Haut Couture at its finest and this majestic, profound, legendary Cristal can be drunk anytime over the coming 2-3 decades.
D
98
Decanter
Cristal 2008 is on a roll to yet higher levels of exquisite purity and precision of fruit in a paradoxical balance of weightlessness and depth of flavour, permeated with minerals and a salinity reflecting the greatest terroirs of the Roederer estate. Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon believes that 2008 is his best effort to date, and it's easy to see why. It's from a cooler, maritime vintage that came right in the end, with one of the longest harvests ever, running from mid-September to early October. The colour is a stylish pale gold flecked with green. Aromas of white flowers are joined by a cleansing citrus vigour and richer tones of peach and mirabelle. The palate is still quiet, but a tender creaminnes shows through, and there's so much concentration to come if you drink if after 2021. The greatness of the wine owes everything to the influence of organic and biodynamic precepts in the field - and Lecaillon's sleepless perfectionism in the cellar towards finer fruit and a careful brake on too much yeasty expression. The acidity is vibrant but better integrated in the 2008 than in the 1996. Magnificent. Dosage 7.7g/l. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040
WW
98
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: Louis Roederer Cristal is an icon amongst all wines made in the world. One mention of the word brings a lifetime of memory to many of us professionals in the wine business. 2008, by all measurements, is widely viewed as one of Champagne's best vintages. When I got the chance to taste this vintage, I was happy to say that the wine lives up to both its reputation and that of the acclaimed year. TASTING NOTES: This wine is riveting. Its aromas and flavors of ripe apple core, creamy accents, brisk minerality, excellent acidity make it one of the winery's best of all time. (Tasted: September 24, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
V
98
Vinous
The 2008 Cristal is a real head-turner. Powerful, ample and explosive in all of its dimensions, the 2008 takes hold of the sense and never lets up. There is a crystalline purity to the flavors that is simply remarkable. Although still a baby, the 2008 looks like it will soon take its place alongside the greatest Cristals. Today, it is breathtaking.
Rating: 98+
WS
97
Wine Spectator
This expresses a sense of focus and vibrancy to the overall structure, while the palate is all grace and charm. A fine, lacy texture carries a tapestry of ripe white cherry, toast point, blood orange zest, honey and ground ginger notes, with a minerally, mouthwatering finish. A stunning Champagne with a long future ahead of it. Drink now through 2033.
RP
97
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Let's start describing the 2008 Cristal technically first. It is a 60/40 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from 36 plots in seven grands crus: Verzy, Verzenay, Beaumont and Aÿ for the Pinot Noir and Mesnil, Avize and Cramant for the Chardonnay. Twenty-five percent of the wine was fermented in oak, and 16% underwent malolactic fermentation to moderate the fresh acidity of the 2008 vintage. The assemblage was bottled in May 2009. After 8.5 years on the second lees (longer than any Cristal before), the first release was disgorged in September 2017 with a relatively low dosage of 7.5 grams per liter.
Rating: 97+
Alcohol Sales Disclaimer
As a participant in this category, YiannisWine had to be pre-approved by eBay prior to listing wine on the website. For more information about wine sales on eBay, please click here
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/alcohol.html
.
Restricted States
We are prohibited from shipping wine to the following states: , Delaware, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, , and Utah. However, some of these states allow us to ship to a state alcohol store of your choosing. Please review your state's wine shipping policies before placing your order. We only collect sales tax of 6% for shipments in the state of Virginia.
Shipping and Handling Details
**Please be advised that shipping rates are valid for deliveries within the continental US only.  Additional shipping rates may apply for deliveries to Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.**
All packages are packed in special wine shippers to ensure proper delivery. We do everything possible on our end to protect our wine shipments from temperature-related damage. In the event of extreme weather, we may choose to hold on to your shipment until the weather stabilizes. We do not ship on weekends. It is highly recommended that you provide us with a business shipping address for best service. Customer comments on their order such as "Please leave on back porch" or "Please leave at front door" will be ignored due to age requirements. We will not be able to refund any shipping charges if your package comes back to us because there was no adult to sign for the wine.
Age Requirements
The purchase of alcohol by persons under the age of 21 is prohibited by law. You must be at least 21 years old to purchase wine or spirits. By placing an order through us, you are representing yourself to us as at least 21 years of age and that the person to whom it is being shipped is at least 21 years old. We reserve the right to ask for proof of identity before processing an order. Title to the wine you order passes to you as soon as it leaves our doors; it is up to you to know the relevant laws in your state. An adult signature with proof of age verification is required at time of delivery. Please be aware that someone over the age of 21 must be available to sign for the package. If no one is available at the time of delivery, the package will not be left. Because of this, we suggest you ship to a work address. We cannot ship wine to PO Boxes or APO addresses.
Title and Ownership
Title to, and ownership of, all wine passes from YiannisWine to the purchaser once payment has been made. By arranging for transportation of the wine, YiannisWine is providing a service to, and acting on behalf of the purchaser. By utilizing this service, the purchaser is representing that he/she is acting in a fashion compliant with his/her local and state laws regarding the purchase, transportation and delivery of wine. The purchaser represents that he/she has obtained any required permission, paid any required fees, is working through properly licensed intermediaries where required, is legally entitled to take possession of wine and is legally entitled to take quantities ordered and once again authorizes that he/she is 21 years of age.
Hold Order Policy
We will hold any order upon request. Please place the date you would like the wine to SHIP in the comments section of the order during checkout.
Combined Shipment Policy
We will be more then happy to combine your orders from our eBay store. Simply contact us and we will manually adjust invoices to reflect the above shipping rates. We can only combine up to 12 bottles of wine (375ml/750ml) into one shipment or 8 bottles of wine and 1 Magnum.
If you have any questions, please message us
or
call customer service directly at 757-463-WINE (9463)
. We're happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have about placing your order. Thank you for visiting Yiannis Wine!