Cristal

« A wine of pure pleasure and a sophisticated gastronomic wine, Cristal
is both powerful and delicate, combining subtlety and precision. » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

The Tsar’s wine

Our House’s most famous wine was created in 1876 to satisfy the demanding tastes of Tsar Alexander II. The emperor asked Louis Roederer to reserve the House’s best cuvée for him every year. He was particularly fond of the House’s wine. To distinguish this cuvée, this exceptional champagne came in a flat-bottomed, transparent lead-crystal bottle. The new brand was named after this precious material, which is particularly transparent and luminous.

Perfect harmony

Produced uniquely during the best years, when the Chardonnay (around 40%) and Pinot noir (around 60%) grapes have attained perfect maturity, Cristal is aged for 6 years in Louis Roederer’s cellars and left for a further 8 months after dégorgement.

A symphony of purity and elegance

Cristal is a remarkably balanced and refined champagne whose length is inimitable. It has a silky texture and fruity aromas, complemented by a powerful mineral quality with white fruit and citrus notes. Cristal is a wine that keeps well: it can be conserved for over twenty years without losing its freshness and character.

Find a vintage

2015

« Cristal 2015 has a chalky temperament, more “soil ” than solar... which is incredible for such a sunny vintage. Great ageing potential! » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

« Delicious, saline and refined... effortlessly Cristal. » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

« Cristal 2013 is a great classic in which maturity and freshness are harmoniously interwoven ensuring potential for long ageing. » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

« A deep and vinous wine, bright and noble, a true Cristal. It is balanced by a chalky freshness that cuts through and stretches the wine giving it with a slender fuselage and great finesse. » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

« We are at the zenith of Cristal, a superb harmony, a dazzling evanescence, with an effortless elegance and balance. » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

« The Cristal 2008 is deep, intense and masterful. It offers the quintessential reflection of its chalk soils which lend it its velvety texture and delicate tension. » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

« Cristal 2007 is a magnificent example of Cristal’s ‘discreet power’. » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

« This concentrated, dense, ripe, fresh and long Cristal 2006
is unhesitatingly made using full-bodied, smooth Pinots and fresh,
elegant mineral Chardonnays. » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

« This Cristal 2005 stands out from all other Cristal vintages due to
its aromatic openness and typical “Chardonnay” character. » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

« The Cristal hallmarks are evident: purity, precision and the unique harmony of flavours associated with the subtle power of our historic vines, located on the finest Champagne Grand Cru terroirs. » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

« All the exceptional characteristics of the 2002 vintage have literally been captured in this 2002 Cristal, which is generous and lush, revealing perfect balance between concentration and finesse, freshness and vinosity,
intensity and refinement. » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

« From the outset, the Cristal Vintage 2000 asserts its finesse, balance
and aromatic complexity - ripe, precise and persistent but also light,
refined and masterfully subtle. » — Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master

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