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Cristal 2007

Louis Roederer, Champagne, France

Louis Roederer
Champagne France
  • 96
    Points
  • The 890 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 21 Pros of
    23 recommend
    this wine
1121 96
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    770

  • Producer ranking ?

    53

  • Decanting time

    20min

  • When to drink

    now to 2025

  • Food Pairing

    sushi

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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58% Pinot noir – 42% Chardonnay – 15% wines matured in wood (oak barrels) with weekly batonnage – no malolactic fermentation. Cristal is a blend of grand crus from the Reims mountain, the Marne Valley and Côte des Blancs. Matured for 5 years in cellars – 8 months’ resting after disgorging. Dosage: 9.5g/l.

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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

2007 was a mostly warm year, characterised by unexpected and major weather events. A warm spring was followed by a cool summer. Drought had returned by the end of August. The end of the ripening process was excellent, and the harvests took place in ideal conditions.

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Vintage 2007

An unusually warm spring led to early flowering and initial optimism, which soon gave way to disappointment following one of the murkiest summers on record. Overall, 2007 was a difficult vintage saved by last-minute sunshine in late-August. Mildew and rot were the main culprits of the harvest, and the level of gluconic acid rocketed. The harvest began early, on August 24th, and was abundant in volume averaging 14,242 kg/ha. Pinot Meunier posed...

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Tasting note

color

Medium, Yellow and Clear

ending

Medium, Round and Extensive

flavors

Vanilla, Apricot, Voluptuous, Honey, Mineral and Truffles

nose

Open, Fresh, Generous and Refined

recommend

Yes

taste

Balanced, Concentrated, Well-structured, Developing, Medium-bodied, Round, Elegant, Fruity and Medium-Dry

Verdict

Sophisticated and Well made

Written Notes

2007 was a mostly warm year, characterised by unexpected and major weather events. A warm spring was followed by a cool summer. Drought had returned by the end of August. The end of the ripening process was excellent, and the harvests took place in ideal conditions.

58% Pinot noir – 42% Chardonnay – 15% wines matured in wood (oak barrels) with weekly batonnage – no malolactic fermentation. Cristal is a blend of grand crus from the Reims mountain, the Marne Valley and Côte des Blancs. Matured for 5 years in cellars – 8 months’ resting after disgorging. Dosage: 9.5g/l.

The nose has aromas of white peach, apple and spun honey . This Cristal with firm minerals and crisp texture is in its opening phase. Aromas of ripe fruits, a hint of nuts and a steely fresh, acid structure. The taste feels harmonious, intense and alive. Drink now if you must but we prefer to wait at least 5 more years.

 

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  • 94p

“Early approachability is a main feature of this Cristal, which is laudably open and friendly upon release. Truly Cristal in style, bright and discreetly intense, feeling even light in its focused, taut acidity. Still, there is caressing roundness on the palate of exemplary silky smoothness. Not the most obviously impressive of vintages but an intriguing one, one that has hidden depths. Dosed at 9,5g/l.”

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  • 92p

This is an impressive vintage for Cristal with linear precision and so much detail that it leaves the palate tingling. It seems improbably that a fine, detailed, elegant Champagne like this has so much intensity and focus. Delicate notes of blanched nuts, lees and citrus notes comes through on the palate but each sip is different, offering even more layers of flavors that are both fleeting and lingering.

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  • 96p
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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

Vintage Quality

Above Average

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Inside Information

The 2007 Cristal is comprised of a blend of fifty-eight percent pinot noir and forty-two percent chardonnay, with fifteen percent of the vins clairs barrel-fermented this year. The base wines did not undergo malolactic fermentation for the 2007. The wine spent five years aging sur latte and was finished with a dosage of 9.5 grams per liter. Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon is very pleased with the potential of the 2007 Cristal, which he feels hails from an under-appreciated vintage in Champagne. The wine offers up a beautiful young nose of pear, apple, patissière, a gorgeous base of limestone minerality, very gentle spice tones, hints of the smokiness to come, a touch of fresh almond and a lovely topnote of white flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, fullbodied and utterly seamless, with brisk, well-integrated acids, laser-like focus, very elegant mousse and outstanding length and grip on the focused and still very youthful finish. The balance here is impeccable and the wine is certainly approachable today, but its true zenith is still a good eight to ten years down the road. A beautiful wine. 2016-2050+.
Score: 96 John Gilman, View From the Cellar (74), May 2018

Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon calls Cristal "the first terroir cuvée of the Champagne." He furthers, "It’s not just Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, but the chalk that brings the ultimate finesse, length and precision of Cristal." Forty-five blocks with averaging age of 43-years-old, low-yielding vines form the base of Cristal, which is usually made of approximately 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. Due to an early bud break (end of March) and the wet summer, the 2007 was picked at the end of August, so almost 100 days after the flowering instead of the normal 93-95 days. There is a bit less Pinot Noir than usual (57%) and accordingly, more Chardonnay (43%) in the 2007 Cristal. This Champagne comes along in a golden color and with a deep and matured, yet well-defined bouquet of ripe yellow fruits and honey notes. Full-bodied, round and very complex, the generous 2007 is a perfect mix of ripe fruit and precise minerality. It is a silky textured, pure and precise, as well as powerful and expressive Champagne. It has great tension and grip in the very long and persistent finish. Great expression of chalk. The 2007 was disgorged in 2015. The 2009 is to be released in September; the 2008 won't be in the market earlier than January 2018. Neither a 2010 nor a 2011 will be released, but a 2012.
Score: 95 Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate (225), June 2016
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