Founded in 1776, and property of the same family since 1819, Champagne Louis Roederer is today one of the last major champagne houses to be an independent family affair. The annual production of its wines (Brut Premier, Carte Blanche, Brut Vintage, Rosé Vintage, Blanc de Blancs, Cristal, Cristal Rosé) represents just over three million bottles, distributed to 100 countries worldwide. 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.
Cristal is a blend of Grand Crus from the Montagne de Reims, the Marne Valley and the Côte des Blancs. The wine is aged for six years in the cellars and left for a minimum of eight months after disgorging to attain the perfect maturity.
The 2008 vintage was characterised by an unusually cool, dry summer. It was a continental vintage which produced an exceptionally powerful, concentrated wine, nevertheless, the unusually cool summer temperatures made their mark on the vintage, giving it a remarkably intense saline freshness.
Amber in colour with green and orange tints and a fine, lively sparkle.
Complex and intense with aromas of candied citrus, Williams pear, pollen and toasted almond. The 2008 has an almost saline concentration derived from chalky soil in a particularly cool summer. The result is a smooth yet powerful wine with a long, taught and pure finish.
the 2008 has been tamed by an unusually long period of bottle ageing: it was aged for 10 years before its release.
Perfect with white fish such as monk fish, and white meats.
Serve at 12°C
Jeb Dunnuck: 100 POINTS
December 13, 2018, 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.”
Wine Enthusiast: 100 POINTS
James Suckling: 100 POINTS
Alberto Lupetti: 100 POINTS
AOC Champagne
60% Pinot Noir
40% Chardonnay
Cork
12%
8g/l
Yes
No (horses in vineyard)
