2016 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut
2016 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut
2016 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut
2016 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut2016 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut2016 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut

2016 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut

98 pts
Louis Roederer |Champagne |Pinot Noir Blends
One of the world's great wines, Cristal is chalky, fine, powerful, textured, sweetly-fruited and savoury-finished. Exceptional.
Price:
$529.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship, only 1 unit left
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Description

Cristal is the prestige cuvee from Louis Roederer, described by their cellarmaster Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon as "a wine of pure pleasure and a sophisticated gastronomic wine, Cristal is both powerful and delicate, combining subtlety and precision."

It was famously created at the behest of Russian Tsar Alexander II, and the story goes that he needed it be bottled in clear glass so he could see any potential assassin's threat... We do love the gold cellophane wrap.

Released in good years only, a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay across the three main regions of Champagne, then aged in bottle for six years - this is the pinnacle of Roederer, and one of the few consistent pinnacles of Champagne.

98 points
"Salty and creamy at the very-long finish. Fantastic!"
- James Suckling

98+ points
"It finishes with notes of effervescent chalkiness and saffron flowers, leaving you reaching for another sip."
- Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (The Wine Independent)
98 points
"It will demand some patience, but this is a fantastic wine in this vintage for Cristal. Bravo."
- Jeb Dunnuck

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

The Wine Independent 98 Points

The 2016 Cristal is a blend of 58% Pinot Noir and 42% Chardonnay with 7 grams per liter of dosage. No malo-lactic was performed here, and 31% of the base wines were aged in French oak. The nose begins with bright red berry notes of fresh raspberries and strawberries before opening out to a complex undercurrent of saffron, white chocolate, talc, baker’s yeast, and emerging wafts of citron blossom and pear tart. The palate is very dry and spicy, not needing even a touch more sweetness thanks to the abundance of ripe berry and citrus flavors, delivering beautifully knit acidity and typically tiny, persistent bubbles. It finishes with notes of effervescent chalkiness and saffron flowers, leaving you reaching for another sip.

William Kelley

The Wine Advocate 97 Points

The 2016 Cristal is a taut, incisive rendition of this benchmark bottling, unwinding in the glass with youthfully reserved aromas of citrus oil, white flowers, wet stones and subtle hints of sweet, buttery pastry. Medium to full-bodied, chiseled and racy, it's almost as electric as the brilliant 2013, with serious concentration, a pure core of fruit, chalky structuring dry extract and a long, intensely mineral finish. Given its tightly wound profile, my advice is to forget it in the cellar for a few years and work on the more open, outgoing 2014 in the meantime.

James Suckling

James Suckling

James Suckling 98 Points

This has wonderfully pure fruit aromas, such as peaches, Asian pears and golden apples, alongside lemon curd, gingerbread, chalk and jasmine. Rock salt and oyster shells follow on the palate, which is so seamless that you scarcely notice the super-fine bubbles. It’s concentrated yet gentle at the same time, with impressive resolution and integration of all components. Salty and creamy at the very-long finish. Fantastic! 58% pinot noir and 42% chardonnay. Drink or hold.

Jeb Dunnuck

Jeb Dunnuck 98 Points

The 2016 Champagne Cristal is transparent and complex, with lovely aromas of fresh flowers. Medium-bodied and chiseled, with great texture, well-defined saltiness, and delicate notes of shortbread, it’s a shimmering and electric wine with fantastic detail. It has a concentrated, chalky profile and is flush with crushed stones.

A timeless estate
In this vineyard dedicated to the crafting of Cristal Champagne, consistency lies in careful adaptation each year. Depending on the weather and the growing cycle, only the highest quality plots are chosen for the final blend to capture the essence of Cristal, its beating heart and its most authentic self.

These outstanding “lieux-dits” have been carefully and patiently built up by successive generations at the helm of the Louis Roederer Champagne House since 1841. They are worked using a bespoke and traditional winegrowing approach that respects the living environment, using eco-friendly practices that include massal selection, gentle pruning and allowing the land to lie fallow for long periods. These methods are inspired by the principles of permaculture, in which the ecosystem adjusts its balance thereby creating a close bond between Man and Nature.

Cristal is a terroir-driven champagne, crafted by artisans, and sourced exclusively from the estate of the same name, which is cultivated using organic methods.

A wine born from the soil yet embracing the light
Cristal's identity is unique, original and truly unlike any other in the history of fine champagne. It is a wine of the soil, a wine of depth, a wine of the land yet embracing the light, a wine that continues to reveal the many facets of its crafting and personality as it ages.

It is a wine rooted in the eternal, that of the seasons, a ripening cycle, a heritage and a quest. The quest is for excellence, purity and harmony: to create a wine that vibrates in tune with its terroir and mirrors its qualities.

A vintage of perfect harmony
2016 resulted in an unexpected and unprecedented harmony, a balance that is ideal for Cristal, combining its sunny nature with its terrestrial roots. This subtle interplay between sky and earth thus reflects a perfect proportion between the intensity of the aromas forged by the summer heat, the vibrations of the wine, and its juicy, saline weave, nourished by the unique chalky and limestone-rich soils.

Cristal 2016 is a return to the near-perfect balance of those mature, well-honed years, following in the footsteps of Champagne's finest vintages – such as the fabulous and unforgettable 2002, 2008 and 2012 - with a new and exciting rendition. This vintage gifted us pure, well-structured wines, further elevated by supreme freshness and precision.

Price Bracket $101 and Above
Type Sparkling
Body Full Bodied
Variety Pinot Noir Blends
Country France
Region Champagne
Feature High Score
Iconic
Reviewed By James Suckling
The Wine Advocate
Critic Score 96
97
98
Size 750ml
Vintage 2016
Closure Cork

Louis Roederer

The House of Roederer officially dates back to 1776 but its real history kicks off in 1833 when the entrepreneur Louis Roederer took the reins.

It remains, unusually for a large Champagne house, in family hands, and this is perhaps one of the reasons it has moved with the times so readily. They are fully behind the move to leave behind the industrial agriculture of the region's recent past and embrace organic practices across their growing vineyard portfolio.

Based in Reims, with vineyards spanning the region but concentrated in the great Pinot Noir area of La Montagne de Reims, they are perhaps our favourite 'commercial' Champagne house.

The vinyards of Louis Roederer Louis Roederer

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