Champagne Louis Roederer was established in 1776 and is now run by the 7th generation of the family, Frédéric Rouzaud. With over 240 hectares of vineyards located exclusively in Grands and Premiers Crus villages, Champagne Louis Roederer is self-sufficient for approximately 70% of their non-vintage production and 100% of their vintage champagnes.
Pioneers in sustainable farming, Louis Roederer use organic practices in all their vineyards, and are certified organic in 115 ha, with the remainder of the estate in conversion. The whole estate uses biodynamic practices and is inspired by the concepts of permaculture. Working hand in hand with nature, respecting terroir and the pursuit of taste underpins everything they do.
In 1974, almost 200 years after the establishment of the Champagne house of Louis Roederer and 100 years after the creation of Cristal, Jean-Claude Rouzaud decided to create the Cristal Rosé cuvée. To achieve this, he selected old-vine Pinot Noir grapes using massal selection, which involves propagation from the vineyard’s most successful plants.
Grand Crus: Ay, Avize and Mesnil-sur-Oger
A blend of 55% Pinot noir and 45% Chardonnay, comprising 19% of wine vinified in wood (oak tuns), which undergoes weekly bâtonnage (stirring by hand); it is not subjected to malolactic fermentation. Louis Roederer’s Rosé champagnes are always produced using the saignée (bleeding) process after cold maceration for five to eight days in the liquid phase. The Cristal Rosé cuvée is aged, on average, for six years in Roederer’s cellars and left for eight months after dégorgement (disgorging) to attain the perfect balance.
Over the years Louis Roederer has developed a unique technique for the production of its rosé champagnes. This process, referred to by Roederer as the ‘infusion’ technique, allows us to bring out the juicy, ripe character of the Pinot noirs whilst preserving their exceptional freshness. A small amount of Chardonnay juice is added to the Pinot noir maceration which then ferment together and integrate smoothly and harmoniously.
Cristal 2014 is 100% biodynamically farmed
A “weather waltz”, and one with clear, sharp contrasts. The spring was sunny and dry and ended with a heatwave in June; summer was autumnal, cool and rainy; September was hot, sunny and very dry…weather we would usually associate with the month of August. The ‘key’ to the vintage lay in the soils as well as in the work carried out by the winegrowers. The good drainage properties of the chalk on the lower-middle part of the hillside helped us greatly by allowing the excess water from the summer to drain away which limited any excess vigour in the vines. These factors were complemented by our increasingly eco-friendly viticultural practices which allow us to take our quest for grapes of perfect balance and maturity even further.
A pure, precise and dazzling bouquet. The intense Pinot noir aromas take us back to the harvest time with its pure, ripe and concentrated fruit: zesty red berries (red currants, wild raspberries, blackcurrants) and raspberry liqueur. Then come sweet spice and smoky notes with a hint of reduction (smoky, spicy) from the Pinot noir with its notes of undergrowth.
Concentrated and broad on the palate, where the red fruit (strawberries, raspberries) is concentrated into a firm, dense texture that reveals itself in two stages that reflect the year’s extremes: initially the texture is silky and broad on entry (the final ripeness) and then followed by a firm and intense freshness (the cool summer). We have a sensation of concentration, of a whirlwind of flavours that burst delicately and gradually like salt bubbles on the palate. The saline, iodine impression combines with the smoky notes and acidity to create umami and an infinitely flavoursome finish.
97+ points – Vinous Media
Champagne, France
55% Pinot noir
45% Chardonnay
cork
12%
8g/l
