Louis Roederer Cristal 2015
A$490.00
Vintages
Description
"Cristal is a wine of evolution, a wine that continues to reveal itself to us, slowly and gradually as it ages, unveiling a very different side to itself and the true extent of its unqiue personality." — Frédéric Rouzaud, CEO
A perfect reflection of its terroir, Cristal hails from vineyard plots that have been slowly built up since 1845 and sustainably worked as part of a bespoke viticultural approach. The practices include massal selection, gentle pruning, the use of biodynamic composts and allowing the land to lie fallow for long periods. Louis Roederer also uses methods inspired by the principles of permaculture, in which the ecosystem adjusts its balance and creates a close bond between Man and Nature.
The Cristal identity is unique, original and truly unlike any other in the history of the fine wines from the Champagne region. It is a wine of the soil, a wine of depth, a wine of the land yet turned to the light, reaching for the sky that il almost seems to touch.
Every new vintage reveals the unmistakable Cristal character although through a very different prism each time. A kaleidoscope of flavours and textures, a palette of nuances that is constantly evolving and renewing itself much to the delight of the wine lover who will be surprised yet delighted to discover Cristal in yet another new light.
Perfectly in keeping with the continental trend of the decade, the 2015 vintage thus created wines that were ripe, well-structured and crowned by a bold freshness guided by its white soils. Brought our by Roederer's gentle and virtuous winegrowing practices, the purity of the chalk shines through and we are offered a perfect symbiosis of maturity and freshness.
Ratings
Score
97 points
Reviewer
James Suckling
Review
If the 2014 vintage was especially open and demonstrative, the 2015 Cristal is going to require more patience. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, crisp stone fruits, white flowers, crushed mint and subtle hints of buttery pastry, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a deep, concentrated and rather introverted core of fruit framed by chalky extract and animated by a pretty pinpoint mousse. This is a serious, vinous Champagne that has considerable substance to age and may well evolve along the lines of the lovely 1985.
Score
95 points
Reviewer
Robert Parker
Review
Every glass of wine is a story and when it comes to the Cristal, the story is being continually added to with every vintage.
In a recent conversation with Roederer’s Cellar Master Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, I asked him where the intersection of art and science lay for him as he often waxes lyrical about poetry and art as much as the making of the wine itself. You may have learned from my previous reviews that I too tend to get very whimsical and poor Gary gets blamed for my talk of couture dresses and all things diaphanous or sparkly. Jean-Baptiste said that the vineyard was planted the same year that Baudelaire composed Les Fleurs du Mal. Baudelaire always insisted that the collection was not a “simple album” but had “a beginning and an end,” each poem revealing its full meaning only when read in relation to the others within the “singular framework” in which it is placed. I think that Cristal carries some of that with it, each vintage is its own piece but also tells a story when placed alongside the other vintages. It also tells the tale of the world around it, grapes, vineyard management, climate change and more all become woven into the tapestry of the wine.
