Louis Roederer
Cristal Brut Vintage
Sparkling Wine from Champagne, France
Bottle size:
750 ml
Shipping: R150 nationwide
Louis Roederer
Champagne Louis Roederer was founded in 1776 in Reims France and is one of the rare family owned companies which is still managed by the Roederer family. In 1833 Louis Roederer inherited the company from his uncle and renamed the company under his namesake. Under his leadership the company rapidly grew while remaining true to their philosophy of uncompromising quality. Today the company is under the helm of Jean-Claude Rouzaud and his son Frédéric who continue to place quality before quantity. First-Rate Vineyards Champagne Louis Roederer is one of the only French champagne producers to own nearly 75 percent of the grapes in the most desirable vineyards in the Champagne. The property is located on 450 acres in the finest villages of Montagne de Reims Côtes des Blancs and Valleé de la Marne. Each region is selected to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with the elegance needed for perfectly balanced champagne. The Louis Roederer vineyards rate an average 98 percent based on France’s statutory 100-point classification scale. The reserve wine is then tasted and graded by a team of Roederer specialists. They choose as many as 40 different wines from several lots for the blend. For the final touch the wine is then added in order to enhance the cuvee and guarantee consistency while retaining the champagne's characteristics.
Description
Bright, shiny yellow hue. Magnificent fine, slow-moving bubbles. The bouquet is intense, deep and precise, combining scents of white flowers (acacia), concentrated, roasted citrus (lemons) and ripe yellow fruit (peaches, mirabelle plums). After a few minutes, subtle iodised, powdery and roasted overtones emerge, the result of the autolysis of the yeasts during the “sur lattes” ageing process. On the palate, there is an immediate impression, soft and delicate, more accessible than ever! It is like a zabaglione with concentrated, juicy and ripe fruit, the hallmark of the great Pinot noirs from the heatwave in 2016 with their soft, caressing texture derived from the chalky soil in which they grow. The bubbles are tactile, perfectly integrated and almost salty. Wheat and oyster shell notes are the signature of the slow and late ripening great Chardonnays. The substance is there, powdery, grainy and deliciously chocolatey. We are very close to having the “ideal” balance, the wine is crisp, saline and iodised, with a long, chalky, crystalline finish that lingers and builds to a crescendo. The overall impression is one of refinement, sapidity and purity... like the infinite grace of an opera ballerina. Cristal 2016 is pure, delicate and concentrated. It is the perfect, eloquent “Grand Cristal”: 50% sun (ripe, juicy Pinot noirs) and 50% soil (chalky, saline Chardonnays). It is similar to the 2002, 2008 and 2012, but with an even longer, more precise and concentrated character.
Food Pairing
Scallops, caviar, smoked salmon, lobster, rhubarb, crab, oysters with champagne sabayon, raw fish marinated.
