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.

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. ROGER VOSS

The first vintage from 100% biodynamically farmed vineyards, the 2012 Cristal is a brilliant effort based on 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. Always from the same blocks (45 blocks) and 40-year-old vines, it’s more rounded and supple than the 2008 and has plenty of oomph in its apple blossom, white flower, chalky minerality, spice, and toasted bread aromas and flavors. With gorgeous purity of fruit, a seamless, layered mouthfeel, flawless balance, and a terrific sense of minerality on the finish, this is a beautiful, elegant yet rich Cristal to enjoy over the coming 20 years or so.

Creamy, fresh, vibrant, effervescent and silky, the wine pops with fresh green apple, citrus, brioche, nuts, flowers and honeysuckle. Long, concentrated, pure, elegant and complex, this is just great! 97 Points Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2012&wine=Louis%20Roederer%20Champagne%20Cristal%20Brut

(97+ points) 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. 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.- WK

I thought the 2012s would be a good place to start this lunch, as the wines have always been quite open and seductive. That is very much the case today. The 2012 Cristal is quite delicate and floral, with hints of pear and white flowers that add considerable allure. This is a young Cristal still in its infant stage, but it’s a Champagne that can be enjoyed now. -- Antonio Galloni

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. Drink now through 2035. — A.N.

The second bottle of this that was opened was more expressive than the first one. Fragrant nose of lime zest, dried flowers, fresh almonds and flint. Bright and juicy on the quite firm, medium- to full-bodied palate. This is now in the no-man’s-land between youthful vitality and mature patina, and this really expanded after some aeration in the glass. Layered structure at the long, linear finish. From the first vintage in which the vineyards were cultivated biodynamically. Tasted at the Cristal vertical tasting at the champagne house on July 6th, 2023. Drink or hold. - Stuart Pigott

Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon reports that 2012 was the first vintage for Cristal for which he and his team had converted all of the vineyards to biodynamics, having achieved that goal for Cristal Rosé in 2007. He says it was a watershed year for his team: Of the 111 acres they were farming under biodynamics, they lost 25 to powdery mildew. They considered giving up on it, but in the end, they not only figured out what had gone wrong, but were inspired by the quality of the remaining fruit to increase the practice to 160 acres. The purity of this wine sustains the crispness and freshness of a late-summer apple picked directly off the tree. Its layered concentration of chalk and fruit starts out as a tense buzz before it opens to a racy and ethereal flavor that gives no sign of repose anytime soon.