The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.
Wine Description
The Story
In 1876 when Tsar Alexander II requested that a special cuvée be created for his court Roederer duly obliged, creating what many regard to be the first prestige cuvée.
As the political situation in Russia was somewhat unstable, Tsar Alexander feared assassination. He ordered that Champagne bottles be made of clear glass, so that he could see the bubbles and to prevent anyone from hiding a bomb within, as could easily happen with a typical dark green bottle. Roederer commissioned a Flemish glassmaker to create clear lead crystal Champagne bottles with a flat bottom.
Originally a sweet blend, the Champagne was named “Cristal” after these distinctive clear lead crystal glass bottles.
In 1909, the House of Louis Roederer was regarded as the “Official Purveyor of Champagne to the Imperial Court of Russia” – a business coup that was later reversed following the deposition of the Tsar during the 1917 Revolution. Prohibition in the US caused additional financial difficulties during the early 20th century. However, the house survived these setbacks and today Louis Roederer remains an independent, family-owned business, managed by Roederer’s descendant, Frédéric Rouzaud.
The composition of Cristal is approximately 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay. The grapes used in the wine come from only the finest vineyards in Grand Cru villages. Lecaillon talks about the crucial role that vineyards play in quality:
“A majority of our most recent development has been in vineyard operations. We have strict limits set for crop yields and we're using vines that are 25 years old on average. We evaluate the grapes coming from our own vineyards very critically. We try to improve the vineyards that aren't performing well and keep the ones that are at the highest level of quality.
The grapes from our own vineyards produce wines with an alcohol content that’s an average of 1% higher than those produced with purchased grapes. There’s less tart malic acid in our own grapes. Even though we strive for the highest possible acidity, it’s absolutely necessary that this is accompanied by a ripe fruitiness. We belong to the five-percent minority of Champagne's producers who do not use malolactic fermentation to reduce wine acidity. The range of aromas is accentuated by the high-acid structure, much in the same way a salad dressing brings out the aromas in the food.
“And we stopped using cloned vines - we're only using the vine offspring from our own vineyards to ensure natural diversity. In the 1950s, -60s and -70s cloning was far too simple a solution for such a complex thing." Chef de Cave Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon explained
Vintage 1981
Champagne: Challenging weather conditions left a small harvest and kept the producers in suspense up until the final moments. The final result was a good but very scarce vintage.
The mild spring woke up the vines from their winter sleep early, and vegetal growth began early in the spring. Unfortunately, heavy night frosts came in April and damaged the young sprouts. The situation only got worse when in May hailstorms damaged the vineyards. After this, the weather stayed cold, and the vines did not flower until July. In general, Chardonnay succeeded better than the red varieties in the flowering phase. August and September brought belief back to the producers, when the weather turned hot and sunny. Grapes matured in record speed, and it was possible to do the harvest right before the late September rains. As a result of previous lean harvest years, producers confirmed the sufficiency of non-vintage blends, and a large part of this vintage’s wines ended up as blend wines.
Thankfully, some of the producers also produced vintage champagnes. The have generally proven to be balanced and even excellent. The wines still have posture, elegance and concentration, even though the wines do not improve further in the cellar. The best experiences this year have been produced by Krug, whose blend exceptionally is half Chardonnay. For friends of Pinot Noir, the best win
Recommended glass shape
Average Bottle Price
2016 | 2015 | 2013 |
---|---|---|
612€ +33.3% | 459€ +43.0% | 321€ |