Cristal
About Cristal
Cristal is the flagship cuvée of Maison Louis Roederer and has a history of its own that is more fascinating than that of many entire rival houses. Originally produced in 1876, Cristal was released following two decades of the increasing popularity of Champagne in Russia. Louis Roederer in particular was a favourite amongst the Russian aristocracy, with around a third of their wine being shipped directly to the grand houses and imperial palaces of Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
The period of Alexander II's reign saw sustained political instability, and the Tsar became increasingly fearful of assassination. Determining that the most likely method of his demise would be an explosive hidden behind the dark green glass of his favourite Champagne bottles, preparations were made for the finest wines Louis Roederer could offer to be presented in clear glass bottles.
Over 150 years later and Cristal is still one of, if not the, greatest expression of Champagne to be made. Modern winemaking techniques and a very talented, industrious team at Louis Roederer mean that the recent iterations of this vinous legend are amongst the very greatest ever made. Consistently challenging the title of wine of the vintage each year, Cristal is rightfully the pinnacle of Champagne.
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Vinous (100)
Roederer’s 2002 Cristal, from magnum, is just off the charts. What else is there to say? The magnum format is so well-suited to Champagne. As opposed to still wines, which are just aged in glass, for Champagne, the secondary fermentation takes place in the glass. I am convinced that is a major part of what makes Champagne from magnum (or larger) often so compelling. The texture, breadth and overall pedigree here is just remarkable, with layers of apricot, spice, dried flowers and citrus confit that continue to build over time. The 2002 is neither old nor young; it is quite simply eternal. What a great way to start the night. Wow!Inc. VAT£1,164.41 -
Vinous (100)
Roederer’s 2002 Cristal, from magnum, is just off the charts. What else is there to say? The magnum format is so well-suited to Champagne. As opposed to still wines, which are just aged in glass, for Champagne, the secondary fermentation takes place in the glass. I am convinced that is a major part of what makes Champagne from magnum (or larger) often so compelling. The texture, breadth and overall pedigree here is just remarkable, with layers of apricot, spice, dried flowers and citrus confit that continue to build over time. The 2002 is neither old nor young; it is quite simply eternal. What a great way to start the night. Wow!Inc. VAT£6,515.26 -
Vinous (100)
Roederer’s 2002 Cristal, from magnum, is just off the charts. What else is there to say? The magnum format is so well-suited to Champagne. As opposed to still wines, which are just aged in glass, for Champagne, the secondary fermentation takes place in the glass. I am convinced that is a major part of what makes Champagne from magnum (or larger) often so compelling. The texture, breadth and overall pedigree here is just remarkable, with layers of apricot, spice, dried flowers and citrus confit that continue to build over time. The 2002 is neither old nor young; it is quite simply eternal. What a great way to start the night. Wow!Inc. VAT£1,269.62 -
Vinous (100)
Roederer’s 2002 Cristal, from magnum, is just off the charts. What else is there to say? The magnum format is so well-suited to Champagne. As opposed to still wines, which are just aged in glass, for Champagne, the secondary fermentation takes place in the glass. I am convinced that is a major part of what makes Champagne from magnum (or larger) often so compelling. The texture, breadth and overall pedigree here is just remarkable, with layers of apricot, spice, dried flowers and citrus confit that continue to build over time. The 2002 is neither old nor young; it is quite simply eternal. What a great way to start the night. Wow!Inc. VAT£5,271.26 -
Vinous (100)
Roederer’s 2002 Cristal, from magnum, is just off the charts. What else is there to say? The magnum format is so well-suited to Champagne. As opposed to still wines, which are just aged in glass, for Champagne, the secondary fermentation takes place in the glass. I am convinced that is a major part of what makes Champagne from magnum (or larger) often so compelling. The texture, breadth and overall pedigree here is just remarkable, with layers of apricot, spice, dried flowers and citrus confit that continue to build over time. The 2002 is neither old nor young; it is quite simply eternal. What a great way to start the night. Wow!Inc. VAT£2,049.64 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
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.Inc. VAT£767.21 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
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.Inc. VAT£8,971.66 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
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.Inc. VAT£485.60 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
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.Inc. VAT£1,106.42 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
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.Inc. VAT£3,616.06 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
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.Inc. VAT£1,759.24 -
Wine Advocate (100)
The finest rendition of this cuvée that Lécaillon has produced to date—and, indeed, one of the finest wines produced by any of Champagne's important houses in the last two or three decades—is the 2008 Cristal Rosé, a brilliant wine that derives from a mere four of the 45 plots that are candidates for inclusion in Cristal: two blocks of Pinot Noir from Aÿ, one of Chardonnay from Mesnil and another from Avize, and I suspect that its origin in the crème de la crème of Roederer's Cristal-worthy holdings has even more to do with the extra dimension it possesses above and beyond its white counterpart than the delicate infusion of Pinot Noir phenolics that give it its delicate pink hue. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of wild strawberries, tangerine, warm pastry and crisp green orchard fruit, the 2008 is medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a racy but beautifully integrated spine of acidity, a multidimensional core and a searingly chalky and laser-focused finish. Impeccably balanced and harmonious, this superb wine represents one of the qualitative peaks of this great vintage. It will be seven or eight years until it truly starts to blossom, but its benchmark quality is already glaringly apparent.Inc. VAT£31,134.46 -
Wine Advocate (100)
The finest rendition of this cuvée that Lécaillon has produced to date—and, indeed, one of the finest wines produced by any of Champagne's important houses in the last two or three decades—is the 2008 Cristal Rosé, a brilliant wine that derives from a mere four of the 45 plots that are candidates for inclusion in Cristal: two blocks of Pinot Noir from Aÿ, one of Chardonnay from Mesnil and another from Avize, and I suspect that its origin in the crème de la crème of Roederer's Cristal-worthy holdings has even more to do with the extra dimension it possesses above and beyond its white counterpart than the delicate infusion of Pinot Noir phenolics that give it its delicate pink hue. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of wild strawberries, tangerine, warm pastry and crisp green orchard fruit, the 2008 is medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a racy but beautifully integrated spine of acidity, a multidimensional core and a searingly chalky and laser-focused finish. Impeccably balanced and harmonious, this superb wine represents one of the qualitative peaks of this great vintage. It will be seven or eight years until it truly starts to blossom, but its benchmark quality is already glaringly apparent.Inc. VAT£2,790.02 -
James Suckling (99)
An extraordinary champagne experience that you’ll never forget! Tons of white chocolate on the savory nose pulls you into this concentrated and chalky champagne with rich candied citrus and mirabelle fruit. So much oily umami complexity right through the huge breathtakingly vivid finish. Just 10% of each vintage of Cristal gets the extra years of aging for release as Vinotheque. Tasted at the Cristal vertical tasting at the champagne house on July 6th, 2023. Drink or hold.Inc. VAT£2,232.41 -
James Suckling (99)
An extraordinary champagne experience that you’ll never forget! Tons of white chocolate on the savory nose pulls you into this concentrated and chalky champagne with rich candied citrus and mirabelle fruit. So much oily umami complexity right through the huge breathtakingly vivid finish. Just 10% of each vintage of Cristal gets the extra years of aging for release as Vinotheque. Tasted at the Cristal vertical tasting at the champagne house on July 6th, 2023. Drink or hold.Inc. VAT£1,028.00
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Vinous (100)
Roederer’s 2002 Cristal, from magnum, is just off the charts. What else is there to say? The magnum format is so well-suited to Champagne. As opposed to still wines, which are just aged in glass, for Champagne, the secondary fermentation takes place in the glass. I am convinced that is a major part of what makes Champagne from magnum (or larger) often so compelling. The texture, breadth and overall pedigree here is just remarkable, with layers of apricot, spice, dried flowers and citrus confit that continue to build over time. The 2002 is neither old nor young; it is quite simply eternal. What a great way to start the night. Wow!In Bond£965.00 -
Vinous (100)
Roederer’s 2002 Cristal, from magnum, is just off the charts. What else is there to say? The magnum format is so well-suited to Champagne. As opposed to still wines, which are just aged in glass, for Champagne, the secondary fermentation takes place in the glass. I am convinced that is a major part of what makes Champagne from magnum (or larger) often so compelling. The texture, breadth and overall pedigree here is just remarkable, with layers of apricot, spice, dried flowers and citrus confit that continue to build over time. The 2002 is neither old nor young; it is quite simply eternal. What a great way to start the night. Wow!In Bond£5,408.00 -
Vinous (100)
Roederer’s 2002 Cristal, from magnum, is just off the charts. What else is there to say? The magnum format is so well-suited to Champagne. As opposed to still wines, which are just aged in glass, for Champagne, the secondary fermentation takes place in the glass. I am convinced that is a major part of what makes Champagne from magnum (or larger) often so compelling. The texture, breadth and overall pedigree here is just remarkable, with layers of apricot, spice, dried flowers and citrus confit that continue to build over time. The 2002 is neither old nor young; it is quite simply eternal. What a great way to start the night. Wow!In Bond£1,050.00 -
Vinous (100)
Roederer’s 2002 Cristal, from magnum, is just off the charts. What else is there to say? The magnum format is so well-suited to Champagne. As opposed to still wines, which are just aged in glass, for Champagne, the secondary fermentation takes place in the glass. I am convinced that is a major part of what makes Champagne from magnum (or larger) often so compelling. The texture, breadth and overall pedigree here is just remarkable, with layers of apricot, spice, dried flowers and citrus confit that continue to build over time. The 2002 is neither old nor young; it is quite simply eternal. What a great way to start the night. Wow!In Bond£4,366.00 -
Vinous (100)
Roederer’s 2002 Cristal, from magnum, is just off the charts. What else is there to say? The magnum format is so well-suited to Champagne. As opposed to still wines, which are just aged in glass, for Champagne, the secondary fermentation takes place in the glass. I am convinced that is a major part of what makes Champagne from magnum (or larger) often so compelling. The texture, breadth and overall pedigree here is just remarkable, with layers of apricot, spice, dried flowers and citrus confit that continue to build over time. The 2002 is neither old nor young; it is quite simply eternal. What a great way to start the night. Wow!In Bond£1,692.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
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.In Bond£634.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
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.In Bond£7,455.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
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.In Bond£402.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
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.In Bond£914.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
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.In Bond£2,992.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
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.In Bond£1,450.00 -
Wine Advocate (100)
The finest rendition of this cuvée that Lécaillon has produced to date—and, indeed, one of the finest wines produced by any of Champagne's important houses in the last two or three decades—is the 2008 Cristal Rosé, a brilliant wine that derives from a mere four of the 45 plots that are candidates for inclusion in Cristal: two blocks of Pinot Noir from Aÿ, one of Chardonnay from Mesnil and another from Avize, and I suspect that its origin in the crème de la crème of Roederer's Cristal-worthy holdings has even more to do with the extra dimension it possesses above and beyond its white counterpart than the delicate infusion of Pinot Noir phenolics that give it its delicate pink hue. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of wild strawberries, tangerine, warm pastry and crisp green orchard fruit, the 2008 is medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a racy but beautifully integrated spine of acidity, a multidimensional core and a searingly chalky and laser-focused finish. Impeccably balanced and harmonious, this superb wine represents one of the qualitative peaks of this great vintage. It will be seven or eight years until it truly starts to blossom, but its benchmark quality is already glaringly apparent.In Bond£25,924.00 -
Wine Advocate (100)
The finest rendition of this cuvée that Lécaillon has produced to date—and, indeed, one of the finest wines produced by any of Champagne's important houses in the last two or three decades—is the 2008 Cristal Rosé, a brilliant wine that derives from a mere four of the 45 plots that are candidates for inclusion in Cristal: two blocks of Pinot Noir from Aÿ, one of Chardonnay from Mesnil and another from Avize, and I suspect that its origin in the crème de la crème of Roederer's Cristal-worthy holdings has even more to do with the extra dimension it possesses above and beyond its white counterpart than the delicate infusion of Pinot Noir phenolics that give it its delicate pink hue. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of wild strawberries, tangerine, warm pastry and crisp green orchard fruit, the 2008 is medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a racy but beautifully integrated spine of acidity, a multidimensional core and a searingly chalky and laser-focused finish. Impeccably balanced and harmonious, this superb wine represents one of the qualitative peaks of this great vintage. It will be seven or eight years until it truly starts to blossom, but its benchmark quality is already glaringly apparent.In Bond£2,317.00 -
James Suckling (99)
An extraordinary champagne experience that you’ll never forget! Tons of white chocolate on the savory nose pulls you into this concentrated and chalky champagne with rich candied citrus and mirabelle fruit. So much oily umami complexity right through the huge breathtakingly vivid finish. Just 10% of each vintage of Cristal gets the extra years of aging for release as Vinotheque. Tasted at the Cristal vertical tasting at the champagne house on July 6th, 2023. Drink or hold.In Bond£1,855.00 -
James Suckling (99)
An extraordinary champagne experience that you’ll never forget! Tons of white chocolate on the savory nose pulls you into this concentrated and chalky champagne with rich candied citrus and mirabelle fruit. So much oily umami complexity right through the huge breathtakingly vivid finish. Just 10% of each vintage of Cristal gets the extra years of aging for release as Vinotheque. Tasted at the Cristal vertical tasting at the champagne house on July 6th, 2023. Drink or hold.In Bond£854.00