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Country ranking ?
571
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Producer ranking ?
35
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Decanting time
20min
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When to drink
now to 2030
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Food Pairing
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Food Pairing
Chicken with Mediterranean Herbs
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 - December 2011
97 Points "The energy in this wine recalls the 2002 Cristal (I wrote 'energy' three times in my notes.) In 2004, it's explosive. The wine is saturated with flavor, from floral notes of rose to pale limestone and equally pale fruit. The flavors keep going, as if striding through doorway after doorway in a limestone cellar, the Champenois equivalent of Get Smart. Built to age as gracefully as Age...
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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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CRISTAL 2004
HARVESTS
A classic, generous year, yielding both quantity and quality. 2004 followed the same climatic trends as 2002 : cool, moderate temperatures throughout the season; and a considerably reduced rainfall (by about 30%) during the growing cycle, which, despite a particularly cold and rainy month of August, was fortunately followed by a dry and sunny September, ripening the grapes off impressively. The Louis Roederer vineyard t...
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A great example of how large yields do not necessarily mean poor quality in Champagne. As a reaction to the previous year's low yields, the vines produced one of the largest crops on record. The growing season proceeded without major difficulties but the bumper crop called for bud thinning. August brought about cooler weather and some rains, increasing the risk of rot. The massive crop, averaging 13,990 kg/ha, was picked from September 18th on...
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Latest Pro-tasting notes
61 tasting notes
Tasting note
color
Light, Green-Yellow and Bright
ending
Long, Lingering and Vibrant
flavors
Mineral, Citrus, White fruits, Toasty, Floral and Smoky
nose
Open, Fresh, Charming and Seductive
recommend
Yes
taste
High in Acidity, Low alcohol content, Perfectly balanced, Well-structured, Concentrated, Youthful, Medium-bodied, Elegant, Harmonious, Toasty and Dry
Verdict
nice but not special and Sophisticated
Written Notes
An unusually unpredictable vintage. Very shy in the current state, despite that the faint tones are of the more open kind. Evolves more and more and already feels classic. Drank a fantastic bottle in Thailand that presented the same exotic aroma spectrum as the surroundings. Shang-ri-La!
Intense lemon Super refined, striking toast and gunpowder-lined, bright white fruit nose Mellow and concentrated, muscular and mouth-filling Long, fresh and intense 2015-2030 Picture-perfect
The 2004 Cristal is superb today. Bright and focused, the 2004 shows all of the tension and energy that has always been one of its signatures. The first hints of aromatic maturity are starting to develop, but the 2004 remains quite young and full of energy. I have always admired the 2004 (along with the best wines of the vintage) for its focus. In this bottle, the interplay of freshness from the recent 2018 disgorgement and richness gained through added time on the lees (which also results in lower dosage of 7 grams per liter) opens another window into the personality of Cristal. In 2004, the Pinot Noir is 57%, or a bit lower than normal, while the Chardonnay at 43% is correspondingly a touch higher.
From magnum, the magnum we at Team Jancis won a year ago for being voted first ever winner of the Wine Website of the Year in the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers Awards. Wonderfully dense, meaty champagne with quite staggering persistence. More savoury than sweet although there's a certain creaminess to the texture. A very glamorous, sumptuous wine indeed that is already fun to drink, even from magnum, but which should continue to gain complexity for many years. Something burnished about its impact, and I'm not referring to the orange cellophane wrapper.
Light gold. After swirling, the nose opens up to delicate notes of white flesh fruits, a creamy touch, toasted almond. Remarkably harmonious palate revealing full-on volume and mellowness. Substantial length capped off with a note of freshness. Superb.
Cristal 2004 / 97 points / A razor-sharp acidity in the background of this Champagne is softened by the creamy mid palate and the roundness from long lees aging. On the palate, the subtle florals are gentle and balanced - white blossoms, peaches and jasmine. This Cristal has a long way to go - keep it in your cellar for at least another 4-6 years and open it after 2017.
55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay (20% wines vinified in oak barrels with weekly b?tonnage). Average five years' ageing on lees before disgorgement and rests for eight months after disgorgement. Dosage 8-10 g/l. No malolactic fermentation. One of the palest in the line-up. Reeks of refinement with delicate citrus and brioche and a light scent of blossom. After the Clos des Goisses, this tastes gentle and delicate, but it becomes tense and driven with citrus freshness as it builds in the mouth and has great length and elegance to a long finish. Mouthwatering life on the finish.
Wow, what toastiness!! So, charming!! Reminds of Dom Perignon and Krug.
This vintage Roederer used more greenharvesting and de-budding in champagnes than ever before to keep control over excessive yields.
The ripe vintage allowed to use richer oak ageing than usually. This vintage under 30-35% oak ageing. 100 hl cask, nano-oxidation used.
"For me 2004 is the most oaky Cristal ever made. This is very Burgundian chardonnay style." – cellar master Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon
Pale lemon yellow, tiny bubbles. Elegant nose, apples and minerals, nuanced and layered. Stunning acidity and mousse, the more I taste this, the more I love it. Superbly elegant and delicate texture, nuanced and layered, fine tuned, gorgeous length. Stretching to 95 on this one.
2004 Cristal
Bit muted but deep with lots of minerals and citrus, roasted nuts, white peach, Japanese pear, yellow apples, honey, curry & coconut. Lots going on but needs air to open up.
Full-bodied but super smooth and elegant, very focused and long with ripe white peach, yellow apples, Japanese pear, minerals, smoke, grilled nuts, coconut, butter. Perfect texture and balance. All ready open and charming but will keep and develop.
95p.
2014-2029+
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Information
Vintage Quality
Excellent
Value For Money
Very good
Investment potential
Average
Fake factory
Be Cautious
Other wines from this producer
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Coteaux Champenois Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Hommage à Camille
Cristal Rosé
Cristal Rosé Vinothèque
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Starck Brut Nature Rosé
Vintage
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Inside Information
Wine Advocate #192
Dec 2010 |
Antonio Galloni |
97 |
Drink: 2014 - 2034 |
$187-$630 (229) |
The 2004 Brut Cristal has put on quite a bit of weight since I first tasted it earlier this year. It is a powerful, structured Cristal layered with considerable fruit. Chardonnay seems to play the leading role in 2004, at least today. Cristal is often accessible young, but that is far from the case here. This is a serious, painfully young Cristal that will require considerable patience. Readers who are willing to spend some time with the wine today will find a super-impressive, complete Cristal. The 2004 Cristal is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. This is Lot L033331E100008, disgorged January, 2010. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2034.
My visit to these historic cellars earlier in the year was an eye-opening experience. I spent several hours with Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon tasting through a wide range of 2009s vins claires. Readers may want to take a look at my feature on www.erobertparker.com for more on those wines. The visit was capped off by previews of the 2004 Cristal and the as-yet-unreleased Cristal Rose. Both were superb. Over the last six months the 2004 Cristal has come together beautifully and is shaping up to be a truly great, monumental Champagne. From top to bottom, this is an impressive set of wines. My only real criticism of Roederer is the estate’s insistence on using lot numbers that resemble missile launch codes in their complexity. Surely something simpler must be possible. |
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