Critics Ratings

Louis Roederer Cristal 1979
‘Deep copper colour. Very rich and, although it's a white wine, the colour, and appeal, is awfully similar to that of the 1976 Cristal Rosé!’ - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 19/20 (Jun 2019)

‘A totally breathtaking Champagne, the 1979 Cristal (magnum) is exotic and stunningly beautiful. Remarkably vivid for a wine of its age, the 1979 is simply emotional. White flowers, orchard fruit, graphite, tangerine oil, spice, dried fruit and citrus confit are some of the many notes that emerge from this spectacular, vibrant Champagne. From magnum, the 1979 is quite a bit fresher than bottle, which is hard to believe, as the bottles are magnificent. The 1979 is just a life-affirming wine. Moreover, it clearly harkens back to another era in Champagne, a time when vineyards were older and before the arrival of new clones and heavy fertilization strategies aimed at increasing production. On paper, 1979 should not have been a great year,” Lécaillon said. “It’s a super complicated vintage. When I went back to the vin clair notes from just after harvest, which I did recently, they all read ‘bitter, bitter, green, bitter.’ And then the wine ends up like this. I can’t explain it. You know, back then we used a lot of taille (second pressing), 10-15%, and it worked. Today, everyone says ‘I just bottle the cuvée, the taille is not interesting. I am using taille more and more. You know, taille is the juice you get closer to the skin, and in some years, it carries a lot of aromatics,” Lécaillon explained. “I think the future of wine is coming back to what is classic. The perfect imperfections,” he adds. This is the original disgorgement from 1985, with dosage of 12 grams per liter, typical of the era.’ - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 99/100 (Dec 2019)

Louis Roederer Cristal 1982
‘Lovely truffley fully developed nose. Tightly wound and very intriguing. Rich underneath. Very flattering and gorgeous. Finishes a little skinnier. Lots of mushrooms on the palate. Long. Quite rich really Very much a wine rather than a champagne, with some real weight. Very fine and neat and dense. Perhaps slightly less concentrated than the 1990 and 1996.’ - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 19/20 (Aug 2007)

‘Power, intensity and phenolics are the signatures of the 1982 Cristal. One of my personal favorites, the 1982 is bright, tense and vibrant to the core. I very much like the sense of energy here. The aromatics could be a touch more precise in this bottle, but the trademark 1982 structure is very much on display. The 1982 remains one of my all-time favorite Cristals.’ - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 96/100 (Oct 2014)

‘A simply delicious Champagne with lots of flavor and charm. It's very clean; crisp and full-bodied with toasty, yeasty, figgy aromas and a delicate creamy texture that shows off the spicy, tart cherry and gingery flavors.’ - Wine Spectator, 92/100 (1987)

Louis Roederer Cristal 1983
‘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.’ - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 96/100 (Mar 2018)

Louis Roederer Cristal 1985
‘Very rich biscuity nose. Quite stunning combination of elegance and weight. Lovely stage in its evolution. The first wine of the tasting that seems perfectly ready to drink. Very complete and flattering. No harsh acidity or astringence. Well mannered, though certainly not the biggest of the Cristal vintages.’ - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 19.5/20 (Dec 2001)

‘The 1985 Cristal is powerful and resonant on the palate, with just the earliest hints of oxidative notes starting to appear. The 1985 may not have quite the layers, focus or pedigree of the very best years, but it more than makes up for that with its inviting, generous personality. There is so much to like, including the wine’s soft curves and racy feel. The 1985 is an especially opulent Cristal, with attractive smoky and torrefaction overtones, and exceptional balance. “In 1985, we had a severe frost that lowered yields dramatically,” Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon recounted. “It was a vintage to handle carefully. From what the old-timers told me, because I was not here, set was so bad that the percentage of stems relative to fruit was quite high. Our crew works hard to cut as close as possible, especially in challenging vintages. But I imagine some stems and underripe berries made it into the tanks, resulting in somewhat green, bitter flavors at pressing. In the end though, those qualities have been pretty good for aging. Ultimately, Champagne is a battle between ripeness and greenness. If you are too ripe, you have rot, and if you aren’t ripe enough, you are green. You need to find the optimal window for picking.”’ - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 95/100 (Mar 2018)

Louis Roederer Cristal 1988
‘The 1988 Cristal (magnum) is a wine of exquisite beauty and total refinement. Chardonnay drives the balance in a deep, vertical Champagne endowed with tremendous concentration and pure power. Lemon confit, wild flowers, mint and marzipan are some of the many notes that lift from the glass, but what stands out most about the 1988 is its extraordinary aromatic breadth and the sheer concentration of the flavors. “I really suffered with these wines," Lécaillon told me. “When I joined Roederer in 1989, these were the first vins clairs I tasted. I almost said: ‘I’m leaving. I can’t do this all my life.’ The wines were so hard to taste when they were young. So hard.” This is a late disgorgement from 2007. There is not a whole lot of doubt that nearly 20 years on the lees has transformed Cristal in magnum from a profound wine to something even more extraordinary. The 1988 is a rare Cristal in which Chardonnay drives the blend, composed of 54% Chardonnay and 46% Pinot Noir.’ - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 100/100 (Dec 2019)

‘Lots of acidity as well as maturity. Some honey notes as well as real savour. Sleek and amazingly long. Gorgeous and fresh. My suggested drinking window applies to this particular magnum rather than the original commercial release.’ - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 19/20 (Nov 2021)

‘Intriguing and complex, with enticing aromas of fig, butter and toast, backed by mouth-filling flavors of pear, cream and apple. Long on the finish, too. Gorgeous, refined and balanced. Drink now through 1997.’ - Wine Spectator, 93/100 (Dec 1994)

Louis Roederer Cristal 1989
'Massive scale. Very, very ripe nose but with great tension on the palate. Much more acidity and nerve than the 1990. Chardonnay much in evidence.' - Jancis Robinson MW, Jancis Robinson.com, 19/20 (Dec 2001)

'Rich and deep, ripe and full-bodied, this offers toasty, almond, spice and even white-chocolate flavors, emphatic yet harmonious. Has firm mouthfeel and a long finish; though the flavors are maturing, it will still evolve well. Drink now through 2002.' - Wine Spectator, 92/100 (Apr 1997)

Louis Roederer Cristal 1990
‘The 1990 Cristal is remarkable. Polished, nuanced and light on its feet, the 1990 is all class. Citrus, orchard fruit and floral notes are wonderfully lifted throughout. A slight reductive note adds character on the finely knit finish. I can’t think of a better way to start this tasting. Simply put, the 1990 is a total rock star. Moreover, it is much more delicate than most wines from this ripe vintage. Amazingly, the 1990 tastes like it is still not ready! “Nineteen ninety was my second vintage here,” says Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. “It was ideal. The fruit was just perfect. We blocked the malolactic fermentation completely and only fermented 6-7% of our lots in oak, as opposed to the more typical 20%, in order to preserve as much freshness as possible. The wine was made by my predecessor, Michel Pansu, but I was learning. This was the first year I started working with oxygen by reducing sulfites in vinification to pre-oxidize the Chardonnay musts, as I do know, which allows me to get rid of all the unstable, oxidative compounds. With Pinot, on the other hand, you need a little bit of sulfur at crush or you lose the brilliant fruit.' - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 97/100 (Mar 2018)

‘What a treat to drink a fully mature Cristal! Rich and round – definitely mature. Long and reverberant. Toasty and thoroughly satisfying. More youthful than many a 1990 champagne.’ - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 19/20 (Feb 2016)

‘You won't soon forget this vivid and expressive Champagne. It packs in compound layers of citrus, vanilla, pear and nutmeg that harmonize and linger on the finish. Bright acidity makes it extra refreshing and layered. It has really opened up since last year. Best from 2000 through 2010. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.’ - Wine Spectator, 94/100 (Dec 1998)

Provenance

Private Client