In 1876, Tsar Alexander II - already a great lover of Louis Roederer wines - asked Louis Roederer to ‘take the exercise still further‘ and create a cuvée for his personal use which was unique, in terms of both its style and the bottle. Louis Roederer offered him an exceptional crystal bottle, holding the fruit of vines selected from the seven great crus on his estate. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes provide the subtle, precise balance that has now become synonymous with the leading prestige cuvée of Champagne. Cristal is Louis Roederer’s flagship cuvée. It was created in 1876 and is composed of Grand Crus from the Montagne de Reims, the Marne Valley and the Côte des Blancs.

THE VINTAGE

An extraordinary vintage which is also the year in which the Champagne region was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site! 2015 followed the continental trend of that decade: a mild, wet winter and a hot, dry summer. The summer, hot and sunny, brought record-breaking temperatures and water stress. The second half of August brought some very welcome rain, giving the vines some much needed relief. Thanks to this fresh finish, the vines produced juicy, ripe and concentrated grapes. Cristal's ambition for this vintage? To capture the concentration which is the hallmark of this spectacular vintage!

TASTING NOTES

On the eye: Deep yellow hue with a lustrous sheen. Ultra-fine, dynamic bubbles.

On the nose: Intense, concentrated bouquet of yellow fruit (white peach, mirabelle plum) combined with a delicious concentrated toastiness in the form of roasted hazelnut and almond aromas. Perfect, seamless and complex marriage of the almond, wheat and sweet pollen notes from the Chardonnay with the juicy red fruit of the Pinot noir.

On the palate: Concentrated, energetic and vibrant on the palate, starting out as a silky, almost oily, caress, with soft flavors of candied citrus and iodized spices. Then the powdery texture becomes tauter and the pure, precise and chiseled freshness crescendos. The salivating finish is underpinned by slightly oaky, sappy and saline notes that create a simultaneous sensation of delicacy and concentration!