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Wine Workshop: An evening with Cristal
Atera - 77 Worth Street in NYC
Tasted December 4, 2018 by MC2 Wines with 326 views
Introduction
What a wonderful and magical evening. Vertical of Cristal and Cristal rose paired with Atera's food. What could be better?
I prob didn't get all of the pairings exactly right. Wine and food were served pretty fluidly throughout the evening.
Flight 1 - A starter (1 note)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Premier
A palate cleanser to get us started on an evening full of Cristal. As you can imagine this got a bit overshadowed as a result although it's quite nice for the price point. Lots of apple and pear and a nice balance between crisp and round. Not overly interesting, but enjoyable.
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Flight 2 - The recent vintages (3 notes)
Sea Urchin | Chicken Skin
Oyster | Cucumber, Jalapeno
White - Sparkling
2008 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
I'll admit when this wine was first released I was a bit of a skeptic given the much higher price than in previous years. But the hype is real. Estate knew - they kept this for 8 years on the lees and 2 years in bottle before release. Really lovely wine. Ripe green apple. Some nice spicy notes which I don't always find in a Cristal. A certain level of depth to the wine. You can tell there's layers there yet to be uncovered. Some fir tree. Really quite enjoyable.
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White - Sparkling
2007 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
From a magnum. Not a great year for champagne apparently. This wine probably would have been just fine on it's own, but it paled in this company. A bit more oxidized than I would have expected. More toasty. Missing some of that nice crisp fruit that the other wines had. Served very cold and that brought out the acidity more. Not really in the same league although not a bad wine at all.
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White - Sparkling
2005 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
Also from a mag. I thought this wine showed very well although most of the discussion ended up being focused on the '08 (which was lovely). Unlike the '07 this had lots of apple and freshness. Almost a touch sweet. Just the right level of crisp. Quite enjoyable.
Flight 3 - Early 2000's (3 notes)
Egg | Maitake, Kombu
Waffle | Salmon, Potato
White - Sparkling
2002 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
Another favorite of the tasting for me. This was very well done. That lovely apple and pear and a hint of sweetness. Still comes across as very young and a bit on the tight side, but it's enjoyable.
White - Sparkling
2000 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
It's all always relative and similar to the 2007 this just didn't quite feel like it was in as good of a spot for me (the broader group would disagree - for some this was their favorite in the flight). I think I was reacting to the acidity not being as well balanced which made it a bit harsher to drink. Also get a touch of the vegetal notes. Splitting hairs and still a good wine, but not I don't think as good as the 02. Interestingly enough still also came across as young while the 99 is starting to show it's age a bit more.
White - Sparkling
1999 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
First of the champagnes that actually was showing a touch of age (the earlier ones were all very young). There's a hint of caramel. Still pretty high acidity. A bit of a quicker finish. I didn't think this was as good as the '02, but appreciated it compared to the '00 mostly because it was starting to get to some secondary notes.
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Flight 4 - The 90's flight (3 notes)
Kaluga Caviar | Pistachio, IPA
Mackerel | Geoduck, Horseradish
Rosé - Sparkling
1996 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Rosé
The first rose of the tasting and my first time with Cristal Rose I think. It's interesting - only slightly darker shade than the standard wine. And almost a bit more organgish than pinkish I'd say. Still, the red fruits come through quite nicely and what surprised me is they're darker in style (think like a red currant or a red plum). Perhaps driven by the saignee method? Bubbles quite nice and that balance of flavors which I associate more with red wine and having the bubbles is fun. Good wine.
White - Sparkling
1996 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
Beautiful wine and still quite young (tastes younger than the '99 to me). It's lots of apples and pears and a wonderful crispness and just a hint of sweet. There's a power behind the flavors (a vibrancy) that I quite like. Missing some of the secondary yet, but will come with time. Lovely. Glad we have a few.
White - Sparkling
1990 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
Lovely and fun wine to get to try. It was interesting to me - the color on this was awfully similar to the color on the '96 rose. A bit darker and oranger than some of the others. Also a touch oxidized. It wasn't a perfect bottle. That being said, the wine was enjoyable. It actually paired quite well with the cucumbers in a dish and that pairing seemed to soften the acid in the wine.
Flight 5 - The super flight (aka 89, 88) (4 notes)
Lobster | Carrot, Trout Roe
White - Sparkling
1989 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
WOTN. Wow was this bottle rocking. It's right in between the more aged versions and the young versions and seems to have everything going on. Apples and pears and caramel and vanilla and just totally balanced. Acid right on so it comes across as fresh and playful. Really lovely.
Rosé - Sparkling
1989 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Rosé
This was a wine that actually benefitted quite a bit from some time in the glass. While the regular '89 just jumped out from the get go at you, this one started a bit more muted. Red delicious apples, very crisp (I think the acidity softening also helped some other flavors to come forward). With more time I get a hint of rose petal and maybe a bit more age character. Very nice wine.
White - Sparkling
1988 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
This is coming across as a bit younger. Next to the '89 it's almost a bit closed for business. Still nice. Some of the apples and a bit of the saline streak that others had picked up in a lot of the bottles but I mostly just got here. Nice acidity. Will continue to let our bottle sleep.
Rosé - Sparkling
1988 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Rosé
Very nice wine. Still tasting quite young. Get the apple from the regular wine and the darker red fruits that I got on the 96 again here. It's drinking nicely, but somehow feels like the 89 is more ready than the 88 at this point.
Flight 6 - Mid-80's (3 notes)
Black Bass | Celeriac, Brown Butter
White - Sparkling
1986 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
Again a wine that's a bit more aged than some of the others. This was very similar to the color of the 85 rose. It's got lots of caramelized notes. Still a lot of acid and freshness. Touch oxidized but in that good way. In a nice spot.
White - Sparkling
1985 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
Definitely not past prime as earlier note said although I think this bottle was bought on release and well stored through that time. In a nice spot. It reminds me a lot of a fresh spring day. If there were apples in the spring. Has that kindof dewey, touch green but in a good way sense. And of course some apple and a hint of sweet. Overall a nice combination.
Rosé - Sparkling
1985 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Rosé
Some more of the darker red fruits again (I guess the 89 slightly different since it didn't have them). Nicely done. This reminded me a bit of the ocean - some saltiness to it and also a nice fresh style. Tasty.
Flight 7 - Early 80's (2 notes)
Spelt Sourdough | Ricotta
White - Sparkling
1983 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
We've clearly crossed the threshold now into what I'd call more aged champagne (in a good way). Lots of caramel and bits of oxidation and a nice acidity throughout. It's drinking quite well now, but not going anywhere anytime soon.
White - Sparkling
1982 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
Lots more oxidized than the '83. It's got tons of butterscotch and still the fruit and I think I might even detect a touch of alcohol for the first time. Interesting wine. Enjoyable.
Flight 8 - The oldies (including birth year) (2 notes)
Squab | Cauliflower, Truffle
Venison | Pear, Pine, Huckleberry
White - Sparkling
1981 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
Very fun and nice to get to try a birth year wine again. This was well aged. Lots of caramel and some oxidation and served a bit cold so some of the flavors a touch muted and didn't have as much time to warm up as some of the others. Still, an enjoyable wine as they all were.
White - Sparkling
1976 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
Yum yum yum. Real contender for WOTN. Perhaps just because I enjoy the old stuff although what surprised me is this tasted much younger than some of the bottles from the 80's. Still quite fresh. Lots of apples and pears and some sweet. A bit nutty. Maybe a touch yeasty. Very nice.
Flight 9 - Dessert (0 notes)
At this point there were quite a few glasses in front of everyone so appreciated no formal pairing but instead an opportunity to finish up the wines.
Lemon | Raspberry, Lemongrass
Apple | Lemon Verbena, Vanilla
Mochi | Coffee, Soy
Bourbon Caramel
Sorghum | Peanut
Closing
Sometimes I think it's hard for restaurants food to live up to the wine that David does, but that was not the case here. Lots of amazing dishes and each was quite interesting with the champagnes. Esp wonderful was that initial bite of uni with chicken skin.
As to the champagnes - really just beautiful. My favorites were the '08, '05, '02, '96, '89 rose, '85 rose, '76 but the one that seemed to be singing the most was the '89. That wine was just rocking. I was also surprised at how often the 'regular' Cristal at least lived up to the Rose. I often like pink bubbles so expected one of those to the most enchanting wine of the evening.