Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2015

Winery notes:

A perfect combination of softness and concentration, matched by a masterful maturity, The 2015 Cristal Brut delivers intense and delicious aromas with a superb energy and a magical vibration. This is a timeless champagne with a chalky temperament, sustained by its soils, freed from the sunny character of the vintage.

The nose begins with hints of yellow fruit, toasted almonds and wheat from the Chardonnay, combined with the juicy red fruit of the Pinot Noir. Then comes the great surge of energy from the wine's structure, a vibratory intensity that transforms into a gentle caress, a silky texture interwoven with fine flavors of candied citrus and iodized spices.

The vintage's chalky character thus bursts forth in a bracing, vertical effervescence, with an insistent, precise and finely honed freshness. The finish is underpinned by subtle oaky, sappy and saline notes, which creates the ultimate sensation of delicacy and concentration.

Cristal 2015 remains a wine of supreme balance and measure, resonating from the chalky nature of its soils rather than the sunny character of its vintage. A perfect Cristal, intensely of the 2015 vintage, with enormous ageing potential.

Blend: 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay

Critical acclaim:

" 98 points. From vineyards that are run organically, this iconic Champagne's latest iteration is as beautiful as ever. Textured, with a mineral undertow, the wine is just beginning to soften and show a balanced maturity. Drink this great wine now." - Wine Enthusiast

"98 points. Ripened to fragrant white-peach flavors in the heat of the 2015 vintage, the biodynamically farmed fruit for Cristal transforms that ripeness into a delicate juiciness, the wine both luscious and youthfully concentrated, almost severe in its structure. None of the wine undergoes malolactic conversion, and a quarter of the base wine ages in oak; particularly in this vintage, Cristal is built for the long haul, rather than for drinking on release. Spicy and sub-tle, this wine's earthiness is incipient, not yet revealed, like a groundnut — not the peanut, but the native-American tuber with a flavor that might literally be described as a pomme de terre (an apple of the earth). Sophisticated and layered, this wine hums with a quiet energy." - Wine & Spirits

"97 points. For the warm and dry vintage this has tremendous freshness and elegance. The complex nose of citrus blossom, mint, lemon and lime zest opens up slowly as this aerates in the glass. The wine’s ample structure is still quite firm, which is a vintage characteristic, the mousse very fine but also very lively for an eight-year-old champagne. Cristal fans will love this as it is, but a year or two more in the bottle will do a lot for the very long mineral finish of this youthful masterpiece. A cuvee of 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay, picked from all 45 Cristal vineyard plots. Tasted at the Cristal vertical tasting at the champagne house on July 6th, 2023." - James Suckling