Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé

Champagne, France

Vintage:2008 (Past)

2002 Late Release (Past) | 2009 (Past) | 2012 (Past) | 2013 (Past) | 2014 (Current)

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Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé 2008
  • WA 100
  • V 99+
  • JS 99
  • WE 96
  • W&S 96
  • WS 95

Reviews

The Wine Advocate

100 Points

March 5, 2020, William Kelley

“The finest rendition of this cuvée that Lécaillon has produced to date—and, indeed, one of the finest wines produced by any of Champagne's important houses in the last two or three decades—is the 2008 Cristal Rosé, a brilliant wine that derives from a mere four of the 45 plots that are candidates for inclusion in Cristal: two blocks of Pinot Noir from Aÿ, one of Chardonnay from Mesnil and another from Avize, and I suspect that its origin in the crème de la crème of Roederer's Cristal-worthy holdings has even more to do with the extra dimension it possesses above and beyond its white counterpart than the delicate infusion of Pinot Noir phenolics that give it its delicate pink hue. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of wild strawberries, tangerine, warm pastry and crisp green orchard fruit, the 2008 is medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a racy but beautifully integrated spine of acidity, a multidimensional core and a searingly chalky and laser-focused finish. Impeccably balanced and harmonious, this superb wine represents one of the qualitative peaks of this great vintage. It will be seven or eight years until it truly starts to blossom, but its benchmark quality is already glaringly apparent.”

Wine & Spirits

96 Points, Year's Best Champagne | Top 100 Best Wines of the Year

December 2018, Joshua Greene

“Frédéric Rouzaud and Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon decided to hold the 2008 Cristal Rosé longer than the 2009, giving it eight years to rest on the lees. The cool vintage and long aging created a wine with a huge personality and presence, its compressed power barely relieved by Lécaillon's decision to include lots that underwent malolactic fermentation (16 percent), a rare move for Roederer's vintage cuvées. Even though the wine is a giant, challenging to approach right now, there's elegance under its deep well of flavor, from rich, floral raspberry to elusive wild fruit. This is destined to live for decades.”

Wine Spectator

95 Points

October 10, 2018, Alison Napjus

“Like fine china, this graceful rosé Champagne is all about delicacy paired with form. Vibrant acidity provides well-honed structure, fleshed out by the detailed flavor range of white cherry, slivered almond, candied ginger, pink grapefruit pith and spring blossom as this rides the satiny mousse. Minerally smoke and chalk notes echo on the finish. Drink now through 2030. From France.”

JamesSuckling.com

99 Points, Top 100 French Wines of 2018

September 5, 2018, James Suckling

“Super fresh with all the DNA of the regular ‘08 Cristal. It heads on a chalky, restrained tangent of delicately spiced cherries with fine white pepper and crushed stones. The palate has a thread of silky, smooth pinot flesh that counterbalances the acidity of the chardonnay. Superb textural build, fine layers adding weight through the finish. Super long, fine and fresh red cherries, wrapped in super tight yet silky acidity. Drink in 2025.”

Wine Enthusiast

96 Points, Cellar Selection

December 1, 2017, Roger Voss

“Interestingly released after the softer 2009 version of this wine, this 2008 vintage is beautifully balanced between crisp fruit and ripe maturity. With its red fruits still in place, it also has a toasty yeasty edge that is sophisticated and enticing. It is a superb wine, delicious to drink now although because of the quality of the vintage it will age for many more years, certainly into the 2020s.”

Vinous Media

99+ Points

July 2017, Antonio Galloni

“The 2008 Cristal Rosé is all tension, nuance and class. Fresh and utterly brilliant, the 2008 bristles on the palate with pure pedigree. In the glass, the 2008 is at once translucent, weightless and powerful. Readers should be in no hurry to drink the 2008, a wine that will age effortlessly for many, many decades to come.”

Overview

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 massale selection, which involves propagation from the vineyard’s most successful plants) from the finest grand cru vineyards at Aÿ.

The limestone bedrock and unique calcareous clay soil enable the vines (in the best years) to attain exceptional fruit maturity, complemented by a pure and crystalline acidity that is a perfect evocation of the Cristal style. Today, the vineyards are cultivated according to biodynamic principles. 

Winemaking

Over the years, Louis Roederer has developed a unique method for the production of its rosé champagnes. This process, referred to by Roederer as the ‘infusion’ technique, allows the winemaking team to extract the juicy, ripe character of the pinot noirs whilst preserving their exceptional freshness. A small amount of chardonnay juice is added to the pinot noir maceration which then ferment together and integrate harmoniously.

Cristal Rosé 2008 was bottle-aged for eight years before being left to rest for eight months after disgorging in order to attain perfect maturity. The dosage is 8 g/L.

Tasting Notes

Bright pink hue with delicate salmon-pink tints. Soft, even sparkle that fills the glass and gives the wine an almost creamy appearance. The delicate, subtle bouquet opens up with elegant aromas of flower petals and dried fruit and nuts, which then give way to zesty notes of red berries such as redcurrant and wild strawberry, characteristic of Louis Roederer's old pinot noir vines from Aÿ. The juicy and fleshy attack is underpinned by a direct, intense freshness. It displays simultaneously solid and fluid powdery notes harking back to the tannins in the pips which were perfectly ripe and lignified. There is an explosion of intense, rich, fresh flavors, complemented by notes of hazelnut and a powdery, almost oily, mouthfeel, characteristic of the finest pinot noirs. There is an impression of chalkiness on the finish with zesty notes reminiscent of candied citrus and yuzu.

Harvest Notes

The 2008 vintage was characterised by an unusually dry and cool summer and undoubtedly falls into the ‘continental’ vintage category: dense and powerful owing to its exceptional concentration. Nevertheless, the unusually cool temperatures over the summer made their mark on the vintage, giving it a remarkable intense and saline freshness.

Technical Information

Varietals: 56% Pinot Noir, 44% Chardonnay

Aging: 6 years in cellar, 8 months after disgorgement

Suggested Retail Price: $469.00