Louis Roederer Cristal 2015

Intense, concentrated bouquet of yellow fruit (white peach, mirabelle plum) combined with a delicious concentrated toastiness in the form of roasted hazelnut and almond aromas. Almond, wheat and sweet pollen notes from the Chardonnay with the juicy red fruit of the Pinot noir. Concentrated, energetic and vibrant on the palate with soft flavors of candied citrus and iodised spices. The salivating finish is underpinned by slightly oaky, sappy and saline notes.

2015 is remembered for its classic growth cycle. The particularly mild winter gave way to a varied spring with a period of freezing temperatures followed by intense heat. The vines reached full bloom at the usual times, during a sunny and dry month of June. It was a glorious summer with plenty of sunshine and little rain. The ripening of the Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays was given a boost at the end of August by some long-awaited rainfall. The crops were harvested in mid-September under the cool autumnal skies, giving rise to elegant, fresh and fruity wines, worthy of labelling as true “classics”. 

Founded in 1776, and property of the same family since 1819, Champagne Louis Roederer is today one of the last major champagne houses to be an independent family affair. The annual production of its wines (Brut Premier, Carte Blanche, Brut Vintage, Rosé Vintage, Blanc de Blancs, Cristal, Cristal Rosé) represents just over three million bottles, distributed to 100 countries worldwide. In 1974, almost 200 years after the establishment of the Champagne house of Louis Roederer and 100 years after the creation of Cristal, Jean-Claude Rouzaud decided to create the Cristal Rosé cuvée. To achieve this, he selected old-vine Pinot Noir grapes using massal selection, which involves propagation from the vineyard’s most successful plants. 

Perfect with white fish such as monk fish, and white meats.

“If the 2014 vintage was especially open and demonstrative, the 2015 Cristal is going to require more patience. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, crisp stone fruits, white flowers, crushed mint and subtle hints of buttery pastry, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a deep, concentrated and rather introverted core of fruit framed by chalky extract and animated by a pretty pinpoint mousse. This is a serious, vinous Champagne that has considerable substance to age and may well evolve along the lines of the lovely 1985.” - 95+/100 - William Kelley - Robertparker.com - Apr 2023

“Tasted at the maison, the 2015 is rich, dense and explosive, with tremendous textural intensity and also a good bit of energy to back it up. Citrus confit, spice, ginger, chalk and dried flowers abound in a Champagne endowed with tremendous aromatic presence in a style that offers notable richness, but lighter than vintages such as 2012. There is a bit of the savoriness that is such a signature of the year, but it is nicely integrated in the wine’s fabric. Two later tastings in my office strongly suggest the 2015 has already started to shut down a bit, which is a shame, as it may be hard to read for some time to come. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: November 2022.

This is a compelling set of new releases from Roederer and long-time Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. The 2015 Cristal is one of the more intriguing Champagnes in what has turned out to be a tricky vintage overall for a region that is struggling to adapt to the new reality of climate change and its impact on achieving phenolic maturity in the field. “We strive to reach the classic measurement of 100 days between flowering and harvest, and that requires waiting to pick,” Lécaillon explains. “At the same time, acidity does not really exist anymore in Champagne, so we have to find a way to reinvent it,” he adds, a bit ironically.
The 2015 is an unusual Cristal in that it includes fruit from all 45 parcels at the domaine, which has not happened since 2002. Pinots from Verzy and Verzenay, north-facing sites in the Montagne de Reims, featured quite a bit, adding energy to the blend. As always, there is no malolactic fermentation. About 25-30% of the lots were fermented in oak. In warmer vintages, Lécaillon bumps up the wood a bit to add phenolic intensity, which he describes as “stretching out the finish” and adding freshness.” - 96/100 - Antonio Galloni - Vinous.com - Mar 2023