Roederer, Louis - Champagner Cristal Brut 2015

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "The 2015 Cristal is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. No malo-lactic was employed, and 25% wine was aged in oak. The dosage is 7 grams per liter. An exquisitely delicate yet complex perfume of clover honey, freshly shaved ginger, marzipan, and jasmine slowly emerges from the nose, giving way to a core of pear tart, persimmons, and apple butter. The palate is an exercise in finesse, featuring very fine bubbles and fantastic intensity with a myriad of spice and floral nuances, finishing with impressive persistence and jaw-dropping poise. This is a style for those that embrace purity, soft-spoken expression, and impeccable crafting. It won't disappoint those who love Champagne in its initial youthful perfume flushes, yet will undoubtedly reward the patient with a richer, toastier, more obvious and opulent style with 5-10 years+ of cellaring."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "From vineyards that are run organically, this iconic Champagne's latest iteration is as beautiful as ever. Textured, with a mineral undertow, the wine is just beginning to soften and show a balanced maturity. Drink this great wine now."

JAMES SUCKLING: "For the warm and dry vintage this has tremendous freshness and elegance. The complex nose of citrus blossom, mint, lemon and lime zest opens up slowly as this aerates in the glass. The wine’s ample structure is still quite firm, which is a vintage characteristic, the mousse very fine but also very lively for an eight-year-old champagne. Cristal fans will love this as it is, but a year or two more in the bottle will do a lot for the very long mineral finish of this youthful masterpiece. A cuvee of 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay, picked from all 45 Cristal vineyard plots."

WEINWISSER: "Helles Grüngelb, goldfarbene Reflexe. Für das warme und trockene Jahr präsentiert sich der Cristal elegant und mit faszinierender Frische. Dies war erst der zweite Jahrgang, bei dem sich Monsieur Lécaillon dafür entschied, Trauben aus allen 45 Parzellen zu schöpfen, die dem Cristal gewidmet sind. Herrliches Bouquet mit gebrannten Mandeln und Haselnuss - Gremolata, ofenfrische Brioche und expressive Zitrusnoten, die an kandierte Limetten, Zitrusschaum und Zitrusverbene erinnern. Dazu kommt eine prägnante und unwiderstehliche mineralisch-kreidige Note, die den warmen und trockenen Jahrgang komplett vergessen lässt. Am Gaumen verführerisch stoffig mit cremiger Textur, aber auch hier kommt der prägnant mineralisch-kreidige Punch wunderbar durch, im super fein gewobenen Finale vereinigt sich das Salz mit den weißen Früchten, das saftig-cremige Mousseux verleiht Charme und Textur."

JEB DUNNUCK: "I had the opportunity to taste the 2015 Champagne Cristal twice, both at the house in Reims as well as at my home office. On both occasions, the wine offered a terrific balance of decadence and notable freshness for this vintage, which was highly expressive on opening. The release reveals layered custardy notes of lemon balm, incense, apricot, and hazelnut. Medium to full-bodied, the mousse is fluffy and rounded out beautifully through the palate. Round and approachable, it has a well-managed richness along with underlying savory sapidity and saline to keep this going over the coming three or more decades, with a chalky tannin structure to support it. Drink 2025-2050. This was only the second vintage where Mr. Lécaillon opted to source from all of the 45 plots dedicated to Cristal."

FALSTAFF: "Helles Grüngelb, goldfarbene Reflexe, sehr feines, gut anhaltendes Mousseux. Mit einem Hauch ofenfrischem Backwerk unterlegte Zitrusnuancen, Limettenzesten, weißer Weingartenpfirsich, ein Hauch von Kumquat und Haselnuss, mineralischer Ton ist unterlegt, ein finessenreiches, animierendes Bukett. Stoffig, mit straffer Mineralität versehene Textur, mittlerer Körper, weißes Kernobst, ein Hauch von Ringlotte, noch sehr jugendlich, feine salzige Nuancen im Abgang, gute Länge, sicheres Reifepotenzial, ein präziser Speisenbegleiter, der mit Flaschenreife noch zuzulegen vermag."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This mouthwatering Champagne has an ethereal quality, with a frame of chiseled acidity and focused precision to the pointillisme-like, vibrant mousse. Yet this shows depth and generous expression, with the finely spun notes of patisserie apple and blackberry fruit opening beautifully on the palate and through the minerally finish, with notes of grated ginger, blood orange granita, salted Marcona almond and anise. Drink now through 2035. 4,596 cases imported."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "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."

DECANTER: "An open and inviting nose references cream, oatmeal and Amalfi lemon with the slightest edge of smoke. The palate immediately strikes with a mouthwatering lemon ripeness and a juicy, mouthfilling generosity reminiscent of yellow plum. It stays true to the trademark sleekness of Cristal and speaks of the concentration of 2015. Fine mousse accentuates the fullness and roundness of the wine while the long finish hints at chalky depth which, for now, is dominated by ripe stone fruit and more of that textured, rich notion of oatmeal. Definitely a Cristal to enjoy soon."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Creamy and welcoming on the nose. Flattering texture and lots packed in there. As usual, such a baby at this early stage! Some smokiness and a lot of dry savour. Tight-knit and introvert. Wait! Such a shame it has to be released so early …"