Cristal 2012

Tropical fruit leads, ripe mango, guava, a curl of passionfruit, threaded through with toasted brioche and a flinty, chalky backbone that prevents the richness from running loose. Biodynamic farming and decimated yields in 2012 gave this Cristal a density that reads more like grand cru Burgundy than prestige cuvée, yet the house's signature precision holds firm throughout. A persistent bead lifts the wine through a layered, unhurried finish. Decades of road ahead.