x
  • Country ranking ?

    1 347
  • Producer ranking ?

    113
  • Decanting time

    No
  • When to drink

    Now
  • Food Pairing

    Seafood, Salads & Consommes

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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 ...

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Wine Information

In 1876, a Roederer champagne made for Russia’s Tsar Alexander II became the world’s first luxury cuvée. But with the sudden collapse of the Russian market, the champagne house endured a long struggle on the verge of bankruptcy. Eventually, the family’s shrewd patriarchs managed to turn things around, and today, Roederer is the most solvent of Champagne’s houses; indeed, its future looks Cristal clear.
Roederer is one of the few top champagne...

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Vintage 1983

Champagne: The 1983 vintage was one of the decade’s most mature vintages and is at its best today.

    This vintage was not born without pain, either. If the 1982 winter was cold and the spring cool, then this year it was many more times so. The damp and flowering. When it finally took place, the weather conditions were excellent. The summer was warm and sunny. As in the previous year, fall rains saved the grapes from drying up. Along with ...

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Tasting note

color

Mature and Straw

ending

Long, Lingering and Acidic

flavors

Mineral and Nutty

nose

Tired, Closed, Modest and Mature

recommend

No

taste

High in Acidity, Low alcohol content, Low tannin, Balanced, Unbalanced, Medium-bodied, Sharp, Ripe, Dry and Silky tannins

Written Notes

For a long time I was impressed by this Champagne—but, rather early on, it began a downhill journey. Bottles that have been stored in private cellars are often rather tired and dark in color. Even bottles that come from Roederer have seen better days, despite the color being light and the mousse irreproachably beautiful. The aftertaste has a desiccating bitterness and the fruit has diminished in intensity. Now the wine is dominated by a tone of raw mushrooms, undergrowth, hazelnut, and Autumn Fire—not too bad, actually, but the wine is no longer a classic Cristal and absolutely dead last time I tasted it.
  • 85p
This was very fresh and delicate, light on its feet with a lot of seltzer, citrus peel, minerals and a pungent kick. Fresh, very smooth, elegant, but not what I remember when I had it recently out of magnum, the 1983 Cristal was lighter out of bottle but still had some extra acidity
  • 93p

Original disgorgement. High yield. More Pinot Noir in the blend than modern Cristal.
Deep caramel straw colour. Orange notes. Mushroom hints and slight TCA on the nose. A very different wine from modern vintages with strange vegetal notes reminiscent of celery and some Oxo yeast extract. A bit sweet.

  • 88p

The 1983 Cristal is fabulous. Rich, ample and generous, the 1983 is incredibly inviting, with tons of class and personality. A wine of real volume and textural breadth, the 1983 has enough pedigree to drink well for many years. None of the elements stand out in the 1983, the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts. “Nineteen eighty-three is a different animal from some of the other wines of the decade,” Lécaillon explains. “It was a heavy crop, with a lot of fruit. There was so much wine in the cellar that the team could not get to everything in a timely fashion, and so there were some lots that started to oxidize a bit, and that, naturally, made the wine bigger.” In tasting, though, there are no off aromas or mushroomy flavors that suggest the wine is fading. If anything, the 1983 is spectacularly beautiful right now, even in the presence of other wines from more highly reputed vintages.

  • 96p
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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

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Vintage

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