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  • Country ranking ?

    281
  • Producer ranking ?

    12
  • Decanting time

    20min
  • When to drink

    now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    duck Bolognese

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.

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Wine & Spirits - Joshua Greene - November 2010

100 Points One of the best Cham "There is no singular flavor, but rather a resonant chord, a series of oppositions that create the invisible intensity of an electric current, the power of the charge balanced by the elegance of the flavor and the structure of the wine. You could describe it as light and brisk, or bold and intense; either way you'll still be tasting it ten minutes later."

Wine & Spirits - Peter Liem - November 2010

100 Points "Elegant and exquisitely detailed, the ’02 Cristal Rosé is the finest rosé Champagne currently on the market."

 

Quarterly Review of Wines - July 01, 2010

Wine of the Year "There is no doubt: The best wine tasted this year was the 2002 Roederer Cristal Rosé ... This wine was a rare experience, and eclipsed all the others we tasted — not just Champagne! ... It’s sensuous, with soft salmon color, and a seductive frothiness that bursts on the palate. There is a mosaic of flavors: pear, cherry, raspberry, vanilla, toasted nuts, and a bit of lime. There’s a rich and refined Pinot Noir and Chardonnay character. And there’s brioche, almonds and cream on the ultra-long, richly textured finish."

 

The Wine Advocate - Antonio Galloni - December 2009

95+ Points "The bouquet is beautifully woven into a fabric of layered, ripe fruit. With some time in the glass, the wine’s textural beauty becomes more apparent, but this is a Champagne that needs bottle age."

 

Wine Spectator - Bruce Sanderson - November 30, 2009

90 Points "This is very fruity, boasting apple, cherry and berry flavors, making it open and approachable. There's concentration as well, with a vibrant structure and a berry aftertaste."

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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.

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Wine Information

2002 HARVESTING:
An extraordinary year that brought together all the factors that make for a great Champagne year: constantly warm temperatures without excessive heat or sun preceded by a markedly mild winter; a reduction in rainfall (about 20%) during the growth cycle; cool nights and a cold dry north-easterly wind from August to September. These exceptionally favourable conditions combined meant that the grapes matured perfectly and their fl avours were nicely concentrated.
Harvesting started 12 September for the chardonnays with an average sugar concentration superior to 11% natural alcohol.

PRODUCTION:
In 1974, nearly 200 years after the creation of the Maison Louis Roederer and 100 years after the creation of Cristal, Jean-Claude Rouzaud decided to create Cristal Rosé. To do this end, he selected old vine pinot noir grapes, according to specifi c characteristics, located on the fi nest of the Aÿ vineyards. Exceptionally, these vines lie on a limestone block with clay and limestone soil and in the best years, the vines achieve extraordinarily mature fruit with a crystalline purity of acidity corresponding perfectly to the Cristal style. Today these vines are organically
grown.
STYLE:
Clearly imbued with the Cristal style, this wine has purity, fruit, fi nesse and incomparable harmony. In three words: proud, rich, and luxurious.
ELABORATION:
60% Pinot noir - 40% chardonnay – 20% of the wines vinifi ed in oak barrels with weekly
batonnage. No malolactic fermentation. To create Rosé champagnes, Louis Roederer still uses the saignée method after cold maceration that can last 5 to 8 days in the liquid phase. Cristal Rosé is matured 6 years in the cellar and rests for 8 months after disgorgement to perfect its maturity. Dosage of between 8 and 10 g/l is adapted to each vintage.

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Vintage 2002

A cold winter and a mild late spring cued for a perfect June allowing early and fast flowering. Outstanding weather conditions prevailed and the season went on without dramatic turns. Rains in August raised concerns regarding gray rot, but finally sunshine and dry conditions throughout September resulted in an abundant crop of largely healthy fruit (11,930 kg/ha). Dehydration due to wind further aided in achieving perfect ripeness and additional concentration. This, and the cool nights, helped in retaining fresh acidity and, despite the ripeness (10.3% potential alcohol), the wines did not suffer from heaviness or a lack of life. A near-perfect vintage, which produced balanced Champagnes consistently around the region. The best show an impeccable combination of freshness, power, structure and finesse. However, some have matured aromatically quicker than expected and are already past their peak. 2002 produced an abundance of spectacular champagnes, such as Dom Pérignon (the entire range), Krug Vintage and Clos du Mesnil, Piper-Heidsieck Rare, Louis Roederer Cristal and Cristal Rosé, Ruinart Dom Ruinart and Dom Ruinart Rosé, Salon Le Mesnil and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, to name a few.

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Tasting note

color

Medium, Salmon and Pale

ending

Long, Pure and Flavorful

flavors

Raspberry, Apricot, Mineral, Caramel, Toasty and Voluptuous

nose

Intense, Refined, Pure and Fresh

recommend

Yes

taste

High in Acidity, Low alcohol content, Perfectly balanced, Balanced, Concentrated, Youthful, Medium-bodied, Ripe, Fresh, Harmonious and Dry

Verdict

Well-rounded and Sophisticated

Written Notes

It's all here in a youthful attire. Very similar to the charming white edition with a touch more creaminess and slightly more attack in the finish. A thoroughly fantastic wine.

  • 96p

As hard as it may seem to believe, the 2002 Cristal Rosé (Re-Release) is even better than the Blanc. Utterly explosive in the glass, with soaring aromatics and tremendous palate presence, the 2002 dazzles from the very first taste. With time in the glass the 2002 grows effortlessly, showing myriad shades of nuance with each successive taste. I am reminded of the vertical I did of Cristal Rosé here a few years ago. Yes, the Rosé is expensive and rare. But it also delivers the goods. And then some.

  • 98p

'Supreme World Champion' and World Champion Deluxe Rosé. 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay.
This is already amazingly rich and long. Great density and breadth.  I can see how this wine triumphed over all the other 650 entries in the first Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships. It just shows what an improvement there has been in recent years in the quality of pink champagne. This wine comes from six specific top-quality parcels that make some of the ripest wines, and it tastes like it. But there is nothing remotely fat about this. Very sophisticated indeed with a beautiful texture.

  • 96p
Nose: delicately fragrant, red fruit purity, mineral Palate: wonderful acid line, vivacious In a nutshell: so elegant Final verdict: One of the finest
  • 93p
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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

Other wines from this producer

Blanc de Blancs

Brut Nature Rosé

Brut Nature Starck

Brut Premier

Carte Blanche Demi-Sec

Carte Blanche Sec

Collection 241

Collection 242

Collection 243

Collection 244

Coteaux Champenois Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Hommage à Camille

Cristal

Cristal Rosé Vinothèque

Cristal Vinothèque

Rosé Brut

Vintage

Vintage Blanc de Blancs

Vintage Rosé

Inside Information

The 2002 Cristal Rosé has always been suspected to become a legend one day. Now, nine years later, the onion-colored wine has arrived in the Olympus of the finest Champagnes. Clear, matured and vinous on the intense and complex yet very delicate nose, this is a lush, succulent, perfectly round and intense 2002 that equilibrates its generosity and texture with great elegance and spellbinding balance. Stunningly, this seamless, charmingly seductive and voluptuous character is combined with great purity and harmony, especially in the finish that is not just round and caressing but also fresh, piquant and stimulatingly salty. Is there anything more we could expect from a Rosé Champagne? Even if you served me the wine in a black glass, it would still be a gorgeous, beautiful wine. Yes, it's wine rather than anything else, and its bubbly vinosity makes me desperate for more. If I just could, I would marry the 2002 Cristal Rosé straightaway. The cuvée reflects a great continental vintage as well as the stupendous terroirs of Aÿ (Pinot Noir: 60%), Avize and Mesnil (Chardonnay: 40%). The bottle I tasted at Roederer in Reims in May 2018 was disgorged in 2011, so, like the 2008, after eight years on the second lees.

Score: 100 Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate (237), June 2018

The 2002 Brut Cristal Rose shows the classic Roederer introspectiveness that can sometimes make the wines hard to grasp when they are young. It, too, is a relatively lightly-colored rose. The bouquet is beautifully woven into a fabric of layered, ripe fruit. With some time in the glass, the wine's textural beauty becomes more apparent, but this is a Champagne that needs bottle age. It should be spectacular in time. Cristal Rose is made with the same technique as the rose, which is to say the Pinot is cold-macerated on the skins for 6-7 days, but the percentage of oak is a touch higher. For Cristal Rose the Pinot is sourced from Ay and the percentage of Chardonnay (from Avize and Mesnil) is a touch higher than the Brut Rose at 40% of the blend. This is Lot L031784L100149, disgorged in April, 2008. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2022. This is another set of exceptional new releases from Roederer, one of the very few of the larger houses that captures the full potential of Champagne as an art of blended wine. Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon and his team have done a marvelous job with these Champagnes. Unfortunately, I was not able to taste the 2004 Cristal, which will be released in the Spring of 2010. Lecaillon is also working on a new wine, a Brut Nature Champagne (equal parts Pinot and Chardonnay, and likely to be a vintage wine) which will also be released next Spring

Score: 95+ Antonio Galloni, RobertParker.com (186), December 2009
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