A mineral-driven version, with an airy, chalky-textured mousse. Deftly integrates hints of smoke and oyster shell with flavors of yellow plum, Gala apple, honeysuckle and salted almond. Refined and persistent on the finish. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. Drink now.

The 2016 Cristal is a taut, incisive rendition of this benchmark bottling, unwinding in the glass with youthfully reserved aromas of citrus oil, white flowers, wet stones and subtle hints of sweet, buttery pastry. Medium to full-bodied, chiseled and racy, it's almost as electric as the brilliant 2013, with serious concentration, a pure core of fruit, chalky structuring dry extract and a long, intensely mineral finish. Given its tightly wound profile, my advice is to forget it in the cellar for a few years and work on the more open, outgoing 2014 in the meantime.

The 2016 Cristal is a blend of 58% Pinot Noir and 42% Chardonnay with 7 grams per liter of dosage. No malo-lactic was performed here, and 31% of the base wines were aged in French oak. The nose begins with bright red berry notes of fresh raspberries and strawberries before opening out to a complex undercurrent of saffron, white chocolate, talc, baker’s yeast, and emerging wafts of citron blossom and pear tart. The palate is very dry and spicy, not needing even a touch more sweetness thanks to the abundance of ripe berry and citrus flavors, delivering beautifully knit acidity and typically tiny, persistent bubbles. It finishes with notes of effervescent chalkiness and saffron flowers, leaving you reaching for another sip.

The 2016 Vintage Brut is a blend of 68% Pinot Noir and 32% Chardonnay with 7 grams per liter of dosage. Only 5% of the blend underwent malo-lactic, and 33% of the base wines were aged in French oak. Showy notes of Red Delicious apples, ripe pears, honeycomb, and cashews prance out of the glass, giving way to underlying orange blossom and fresh ginger scents. To its credit, the palate is on the dry side, with its sweetness coming from ripe fruit as opposed to added dosage, offset by supportive yet skillfully balanced acidity, showcasing the ripe, nuanced, seductive fruit, finishing long and creamy. More gregarious than its 2016 Cristal counterpart, this is a flamboyant yet age-worthy Vintage Brut. Love it.

From the challenging 2017 vintage, a growing season plagued by severe spring frosts, a lackluster summer, and bouts of botrytis in the run-up to harvest, somehow comes the bright, breezy breath of fresh air! The 2017 Rosé Vintage is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from Roederer’s la Rivière estate. It reveals a very subtle salmon-pink color. Delicate scents of fresh raspberries, wild strawberries, and McIntosh apples languorously drift from the glass, followed by chalk dust and rose bud tea suggestions. The palate is understated and elegantly styled with a zippy line of freshness and tiny, persistent bubbles supporting the red berry and chalky layers, finishing with a quietly intense floral perfume. 29% was aged in oak, 24% went through malo-lactic, and it has 8 grams per liter of dosage, making for a very dry expression with great tension and finesse.