2008 | Louis Roederer | Cristal (Magnum)
Sparkling Wine: 2008 | Louis Roederer | Cristal (Magnum)
The Cristal 2008 is deep, intense and masterful. It offers the quintessential reflection of its chalk soils which lend it its velvety texture and delicate tension.
Order from the Largest & Most Trusted Premium Spirits Marketplace!
Featured in
- ROLLING STONE
- MEN’S JOURNAL
- US WEEKLY
NOTICE: Many other small liquor store sites may end up cancelling your order due to the high demand, unavailability or inaccurate inventory counts. We have partnerships consisting of a large network of licensed retailers from within the United States, Europe and across the world ensuring orders are fulfilled.
Producer: Louis Roederer
Ratings: WA | 98 JS | 100
Vintage: 2008
Size: 1.5L
ABV: 12%
Varietal: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Country/Region: France, Champagne
Detailed Description
The Cristal 2008 is deep, intense and masterful. It offers the quintessential reflection of its chalk soils which lend it its velvety texture and delicate tension.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: Disgorged in September 2017 with 7.5 grams per liter dosage, the 2008 Cristal was produced from 37 of the 45 parcels that are candidates for inclusion in this cuvée—some 40% of which were farmed organically back in 2008—and it’s a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. The finest young Cristal in decades, the wine wafts from the glass with a pure and vibrant bouquet of crisp orchard fruit, clear honey, warm brioche, citrus zest and white flowers. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, intense and incisive, with superb concentration, racy acids and a long, searingly chalky finish. Pristinely balanced, there are some 500,000 bottles of this legend-in-the-making.
- James Suckling: OMG. A masterpiece. A benchmark. Tight and structured, with fantastic precision and structure. Sharp line of acidity throughout, with fine and tight bubbles. Pineapple, lemon, white apricot, seashell, biscuit, blanched almond and a hint of chamomile. Vertical and mineral. Dosage 7g/L. Special release in magnum and aged two or three years longer on the lees than the normal bottling. I can’t go higher than this.
Producer Information
Although founded in 1776, the house in its current guise began in 1833, when Louis Roederer took the reins from his uncle and renamed the business for himself. Roederer set out to capture foreign markets, and most famously that of Russia; Roederer became the wine of choice for the Russian royal family. Cristal – now one of the region’s top prestige cuvées along with the likes of Dom Pérignon (Moët), Belle Époque (Perrier-Jouet), Comtes de Champagne (Taittinger) or Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill (Pol Roger) – was created for the notoriously paranoid Tsar Alexander II of Russia, who requested the bottle be clear and flat-bottomed to prevent hidden explosives. Louis Roederer acquired several grand cru vineyards in Champagne in 1845 to add to his portfolio. This was unusual for the time as the majority of houses were buying grapes from growers rather than cultivating their own. Today, the Roederer vineyards encompass around 240 hectares (600 acres) of land in the Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs. By 2012, around 25 percent of the vineyards were managed biodynamically (the 2012 Cristal is made from biodynamically farmed grapes).
Louis Roederer is a well-regarded Champagne house based in the city of Reims and best-known for its flagship wine: Cristal. The house, established in the late 18th Century, is still family-owned, and produces a house style with equal amounts of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, around one-fifth Pinot Meunier.