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Uutiset
The Wine Advocate - Antonio Galloni - December 2008
95 Points "The 2000 Cristal Rose emerges from the glass in a stunning display of well-articulated aromas and flavors. Everything in is perfect balance as this perfumed wine opens up in the glass in a style that recalls the weightless transparency of a great Burgundy. The finish is long, sweet and incredibly refined. I came back to the bottle several hours after opening, and the wine had blossomed into an extraordinary Champagne."
Wine Enthusiast - Roger Voss - December 01, 2008
95 Points "Orange-pink in color, this a super-rich rosé. The flavors are of orange zest, citrus and red currants, with a beautiful contrast of hazelnuts. The texture, round and succulent, is still able to offer minerality and a crisp aftertaste."
Quarterly Review of Wines - December 2008
Best of Show of 5-Star Prestige/Cuvee Rose Champagnes: "Wholly entrancing, with big, bold, smoky, red berry and toasted nut flavors that never quite quit."
San Francisco Chronicle - Lynne Char Bennett - February 01, 2008
3.5 Stars (Excellent "This is the rarest Champagne produced by Louis Roederer. Delicate, elegant and finessed, it has orange blossom, a touch of mushroom, rye seed and high-toned notes balanced with red fruit wrapped around an incisively acidic backbone. The subtle, complex aromas and flavors end with a creamy finish. Will improve with time, up to 20 years or more."
Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
Cristal Rosé was first born a hundred years after the original Cristal, in 1974. It is an intriguing and particular prestige cuvée rosé, as it has the palest colour, yet a contrastingly fleshy, fruity, well-built palate of amazing freshness. Its secret is in the 60 per cent Pinot Noir from two hectares of Roederer’s own old-vine vineyards in Aÿ, Bonotte-Pierre-Robert and La Côte du Moulin, which are now cultivated according to biodynamic principles. It is these ripe, concentrated grapes that give the wine its delicate hue via the saignée, or bleeding method. Then 30 per cent of Côte des Blancs Grand Cru Chardonnay from Le Mesnil sur Oger and Avize is added to give spine and elegance.
Wine Information
CRISTAL 2000 Rosé
HARVESTS
After growth got off to a flying start at the end of April beginning of May, flowering took place from 9-12 June. Rainfall in July was four times higher than average but August was quite sunny. The vineyards of Verzy, Verzenay, Aÿ and Epernay, were hit by a violent hail storm in July which destroyed approximately 45 hectares of vines.
Morale was running low at the beginning of September. The vines were slow to mature due to bad weather. The soil was completely sodden. However, thanks to fine weather that held throughout the month of September the first juices registered 9.5° and even 10°, and acidity between 7.5 and 8. Nothing short of miraculous!
For the first time in recorded history, the vintage started in all three regions on the same day: 18 September. The sun shone for the duration of the picking which lasted two weeks, and the harvest remained of remarkable quality from beginning to end.
Unflagging attention, frequent quality controls, new picking sequences every day, and exceptionally healthy grapes: all these factors reflect the painstaking work of the growers and their skill in producing grapes capable of yielding great wines.
ELABORATION
55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay.
Cristal is produced using only the finest vintages from crus guaranteed to originate from the Louis Roederer vineyard. The wine is left to mature on yeast for an average of five years and spends a minimum period of eight months in the cellar after disgorgement.
DOSAGE: low at 10 g/l.
The "liqueurs de dosage" are prepared with the greatest of care from a selected blend of 8 to 10 of the very best crus from the Louis Roederer vineyard and then left to age in oak.
TASTING
Colour: sustained golden yellow tones shimmering with luminous green highlights and ultra-fine, energetic bubbles.
Nose: an intense, precise but exquisitely subtle nose, opening with dominant aromas of fresh almonds and sweet-smelling flowers then revealing riper nuances of lush vine peaches, white chocolate, caramel and a sprinkling of lightly toasted hazelnuts.
Impressive Palate: the attack on the palate is sensual and fleshy with an almost caressing mouthfeel.
More mineral notes come through on the mid-palate - testament to this Champagne’s deliberately low dosage - supported by a refreshing crispness that carries an impression of delicacy rather than strength. The overall effect is one of precise elegance, a wine perfectly poised between the structure of the Pinot Noir and the finesse of the Chardonnay, marrying roundness and vinosity with a sense of freshness and verve. The finish is long and deliciously refreshing, underscored by harmonious, lightly caramelised notes of the year’s great wines aged in wood.
Overall impression: 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.
Serve at a temperature of 8°C (46°F) to 10°C (50°F). We recommend that you leave the bottle to cool in the refrigerator for 2 H. Alternatively, immerse the bottle up to its neck in a champagne bucket filled with ice before serving. Never cool the bottle in the freezer since this breaks the wine.
AS A COMPLEMENT TO FOOD:
The strength and finesse of Cristal are perfectly suited to delicate foods. It is a flattering accompaniment to caviar, fish and shellfish such as scallops, John Dory, lobster and crayfish.
Vuosikerta 2000
A warm and wet winter was followed by an equally wet spring. First, in May, came the seri- ous heat, which gave a fast owering around June 14. Chlorosis and mold growth were evi- dent. June and August were hot and dry. But if you were like me, and tried to have a July vaca- tion in Champagne that year, you noticed how cold and rainy it was. The weather was almost as bad as at home, with constant rain and local hailstorms.
Everything looked hopeless, but the good weather during harvest saved a decent amount of fresh grapes. Harvest started on my birthday—September 11—and ended in early October. Chardonnay and pinot meunier did better than the delicate pinot noir. The year will become sought after thanks to their magic number. The quality does not look too fancy yet though. The wines are quite light with short lives. However, it is a very enjoyable moment, with its intense exotic aromas of passion fruit and tangerine. I am delighted to recommend some romantic bottles of the successful pink trio William Deutz Rosé, Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé, and Pommery Cuvée Louise Rosé.
by Richard Juhlin/
