This needed a good amount of air to start strutting its stuff. Right on the pop and pour, this was diffuse, lean, and lacking weight. Nice acidity with pronounced creaminess and an extraordinarily fine bead, which honestly I didn't like because it made this feel like an unracked still wine. Definitely not convincing at the get-go, this was much better when we revisited it later in the evening, where the acidity had pulled everything tighter.
One of my favourites of the lineup tonight. Very much in the shape of the 2008 with its bright yellow/white fruit and tension-driven acidity. I love the mineral, chewy texture here, and the way the relatively tart fruit helps round out that leanness. This doesn't have quite the creaminess, nor the super fine bead that I tend to associate with Cristal.
Having recently tried this maybe a month ago, I'm pretty sure the difference between the tasting notes is more due to venue and other personal idiosyncrasies than bottle variation. I thought this was more taut and put-together tonight than last month. The nose is a little diffuse, and shows a creamy character similar to the 2014. There's also a mild reductive note. On the palate, this is in the same vein as the 2014, but with more cut and weight. Again the fruit is somewhat rounded.
I've loved most 2009 champagnes I've had -- the riper year yielded wines that show more oomph, and coupled with the champagne acidity, give you large-scaled but fresh wines. A fantastic showing. This has improved since I lasted tasted it a few years ago. A slight reductive note on the nose again, but showing the plump, fleshy weight of the vintage. Despite that fleshiness though, there is an intense mineral chew on the back end that I really like. One of the most exciting bottles tonight.
Wine of the tasting, without a doubt. Laser-focussed, but lemon cream at the same time, this just has it all. The acidity is pronounced here versus all the other wines, but it's not in your face. This is perfectly balanced and simply put, a complete wine. Given the weight and acidity here, this is undoubtedly the Cristal to own and age if one had to choose but one vintage.
Very rich and ripe, and quite large-scaled again with respect to the fruit here. Feels a little old-school in style, with a sweeter complexion. However, the acidity doesn't feel as prominent and you get some nascent brioche/autolytic character as well. Red delicious apples figure prominently here, and the fruit profile is distinctly darker than the younger wines. The texture, with a slightly coarser mousse, is spot on though, and I quite enjoy this for that texture.
I think others liked this a lot more than I did. Strongly reductive nose (not off-puttingly so, more in the context of the lineup), but enough sweet fruit and bready notes to balance that out. On the palate, this was where the wine fell off -- I found it angular and disjoint, as if all the pieces were just tacked on rather than a seamless package from the start. This just didn't feel integrated at all.
I think if the vintage on this was in the 90s, I'd be thrilled to have it. But this seemed a little advanced for the vintage, and especially in the context of the other wines on the table tonight. Apricots and other stone fruit, with some cooked apple notes as well. Still plenty of acidity, but lacking the freshness to perk this wine up. The weight and fruit profile is surprising given that I always thought of the vintage as a higher-acid, lean one.
Perhaps more interesting than good at this point for me. Very ripe and sweet, almost like it was dosed a little too generously. Drinks like a dry Sauternes with some bubbles -- a moderate mushroom note from the age, but plenty of honey and marmalade notes too. With air, a very distinct curry leaf aroma develops. The effervescence is mostly dissipated too. Not really the type of champagne I'd like to drink.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Served double blind. Truth be told, the high-toned and slightly modernist fruit here didn't have me going to Burgundy immediately, though it was pretty clear that this was pinot noir. Feels a little angular and jutting, and given the reveal, this doesn't really have the weight of a grand cru either.
Have never been a big fan of the estate's nebbiolo wines, finding them too modernist for my delicate constitution. This, however, is clean and bright, with a core of moderately tart red fruit. Not as distinctively barbera to me -- I think time has seen to that. Very good for the price.
Definitely not my style of champagne, though this is richer than most Agrapart. Still, this is surprisingly lean for a vintage that I always though was quite ripe (and hoping to be similar to 2009). Mostly tart fruit, but a pleasant underlying chalkiness as well.
Yeah... definitely not my cup of tea. Like drinking Gerolsteiner with insane acids. Chewy and textural, which I like, but overall lacking breadth and weight on the palate.
2014 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
This needed a good amount of air to start strutting its stuff. Right on the pop and pour, this was diffuse, lean, and lacking weight. Nice acidity with pronounced creaminess and an extraordinarily fine bead, which honestly I didn't like because it made this feel like an unracked still wine. Definitely not convincing at the get-go, this was much better when we revisited it later in the evening, where the acidity had pulled everything tighter.
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2013 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 95 Points
France, Champagne
One of my favourites of the lineup tonight. Very much in the shape of the 2008 with its bright yellow/white fruit and tension-driven acidity. I love the mineral, chewy texture here, and the way the relatively tart fruit helps round out that leanness. This doesn't have quite the creaminess, nor the super fine bead that I tend to associate with Cristal.
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2012 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
Having recently tried this maybe a month ago, I'm pretty sure the difference between the tasting notes is more due to venue and other personal idiosyncrasies than bottle variation. I thought this was more taut and put-together tonight than last month. The nose is a little diffuse, and shows a creamy character similar to the 2014. There's also a mild reductive note. On the palate, this is in the same vein as the 2014, but with more cut and weight. Again the fruit is somewhat rounded.
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2009 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 95 Points
France, Champagne
I've loved most 2009 champagnes I've had -- the riper year yielded wines that show more oomph, and coupled with the champagne acidity, give you large-scaled but fresh wines. A fantastic showing. This has improved since I lasted tasted it a few years ago. A slight reductive note on the nose again, but showing the plump, fleshy weight of the vintage. Despite that fleshiness though, there is an intense mineral chew on the back end that I really like. One of the most exciting bottles tonight.
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2008 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 95 Points
France, Champagne
Wine of the tasting, without a doubt. Laser-focussed, but lemon cream at the same time, this just has it all. The acidity is pronounced here versus all the other wines, but it's not in your face. This is perfectly balanced and simply put, a complete wine. Given the weight and acidity here, this is undoubtedly the Cristal to own and age if one had to choose but one vintage.
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2007 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Flawed
France, Champagne
Corked.
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2006 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
Very rich and ripe, and quite large-scaled again with respect to the fruit here. Feels a little old-school in style, with a sweeter complexion. However, the acidity doesn't feel as prominent and you get some nascent brioche/autolytic character as well. Red delicious apples figure prominently here, and the fruit profile is distinctly darker than the younger wines. The texture, with a slightly coarser mousse, is spot on though, and I quite enjoy this for that texture.
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2005 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne
I think others liked this a lot more than I did. Strongly reductive nose (not off-puttingly so, more in the context of the lineup), but enough sweet fruit and bready notes to balance that out. On the palate, this was where the wine fell off -- I found it angular and disjoint, as if all the pieces were just tacked on rather than a seamless package from the start. This just didn't feel integrated at all.
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2004 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne
I think if the vintage on this was in the 90s, I'd be thrilled to have it. But this seemed a little advanced for the vintage, and especially in the context of the other wines on the table tonight. Apricots and other stone fruit, with some cooked apple notes as well. Still plenty of acidity, but lacking the freshness to perk this wine up. The weight and fruit profile is surprising given that I always thought of the vintage as a higher-acid, lean one.
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1989 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne
Perhaps more interesting than good at this point for me. Very ripe and sweet, almost like it was dosed a little too generously. Drinks like a dry Sauternes with some bubbles -- a moderate mushroom note from the age, but plenty of honey and marmalade notes too. With air, a very distinct curry leaf aroma develops. The effervescence is mostly dissipated too. Not really the type of champagne I'd like to drink.
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