Community Tasting Notes (29) Avg Score: 94.7 points

  • This was quite lovely opened for an hour and let it warm up after the ice bucket; the nose was quite expressive with pastry dough, crushed stone, yellow apple, green pear, lemon, and orchard floral notes, and hints of honey. The palate is super silky and refined with a plush, but vibrant sensation. Really quite tasty. Stayed fairly similar over about 2 hours of consumption. Definitely young, but certainly enjoyable now.

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  • 3rd tasting notes with consistent scores.

    Nose is pronounced and already drinking well despite its youth. Notes of toast, biscuit, bread, yeast, apple, pear, lemon. High acidity and well balanced on palate.

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  • Expressive nose, with pear and apple, white pepper, yuzu, chalk. It’s a chiseled out wine at first. As it warms and relaxes in the glass, there’s a mineral, chalky feel and a delicious salinity. Works so well with or without food. Youthful now, but delicious all the same.

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  • Not feeling as strongly as other tasters. Decent but definitely great vintage for Cristal.

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  • This was a much better showing with this bottle than the one I had a few months ago. This was a bit more relaxed, slightly oxidative, but with notable concentration. Blind, I initially thought this was a 2015 Churchill due to their similar profiles and displays of fruit (once revealed). With its delineated linear bead and white/higher-riding yellow fruit, the Cristal was notably fuller than the Churchill. With air, it became more complex, which is where the subtle oxidative notes started to percolate.

    I favor the 2013 Cristal (and 2008, though that has been a bit hit/miss for me - though a 2008 we also had during this tasting was very compelling). The 2015 will likely be a very good wine after a few more years in bottle, but I suspect it will never be a top reflection of the brand.

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  • Powerful, yet crisp and clean. Bright acid. Lemon curd, white stone fruit, lime, yellow flowers. Reminds me of the 2012, as @DCWino mentioned.

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  • Champers and Napa Cabs Blind - Fun Times! (Chateau Simms): This was presented in a blind tasting of some high-end Champagnes:

    1. NV Ulysse Collin Blanc de Blanc Enfers (Extra Brut)
    2. 2015 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill
    3. 2015 Cristal
    4. 2012 Leclerc Briant Château d'Avize, Blanc de Blancs, Brut Zéro
    5. NV Selosse Lieux-dits Extra Brut Ay La Côte Faron
    6. 2007 Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth
    7. NV Selosse V.O.

    2015 Cristal - Love Cristal! This was easily narrowed down to this or the Winston Churchill....how ever the crystal (Cristal) clear bottle top above the bag gave it away! Honestly, totally blind it would have been a coin flip. Similar profile, creamy mousse, tart apple and pear and loaded with minerality. This wine was more Yuzu than lime and slightly more minerality and slightly more rounded (less acidity) than Winnie. 96+ to 97. Also slightly behind the 08 and 13....similar to the '07.

    Note: I typically love this style more than the oxidative style when drinking them without food, but with salty foods (think caviar), I actually preferred the oxidative style which went remarkably well with the food!

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  • Cristal has done it again with a refreshing, crisp, crowd pleasing wine. Although my palate has gone the route of egly/selosse/ulysse as of late, this wine will surely be in my cellar for those special occasions. I’ll leave the oxidative style bubbles for my fellow pinky up friends while sucking down caviar.

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  • Eyes Wide Shut - Day 2 (A quiet place): Nose: Clean fruits, fruits laden with crushed minerals, light white flowers and a fresh airiness.

    Palate: Nice salinity from the crushed minerals, prickly and lightly ripe, crisp white fleshed stone fruits.

    This had a nice plus-up since the last time I've had it, with a more intense delivery of the flavor profile. Very clean, fresh and crisp.

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  • Medium degree of openness -- structure feels like a steel box with precise size and shape in the palate. Not a ton of acidity, typical for 2015, replacing it with metallic minerality for balance with the fruits and such. Give it a few more years, though drinkable now.

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  • Champagne, Red Burgundy and Riesling - Q by Peter Chang (Q by Peter Chang - Bethesda, Maryland): The expressive nose displaying generous sweet yellow fruit with a hint of white, lemon curd, pear, apple, honeysuckle, brioche, white pepper, spice, and limestone. With air, candied lemon peel becomes pronounced. Excellent concentration, beautifully layered pure sweet lemon fruit, very fine generous mousse, rich and sweet but also fresh, energetic, precise and focused, bright acidity, strong mineral, and a long sweet yellow citrus fruit finish with a hint of white pepper at the end. Although youthful, this is drinking exceptionally well.

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  • Higher pitched lemon juice and white fruit, honeydew rind, chalk, and crisp yellow apple. Linear and fairly unexpressive overall. Muted and primary on the finish. This is going to take some time to unfurl, with perhaps the "challenges of the vintage" showing through the cracks here and there. Compared to the 2013 Cristal, this 2015 is quality stuff indeed, but lacking the intensity and spirited personality of the 2013.

    This 2015 Cristal was easily bested by a 2013 Pol Roger Churchill served beside it. For me, the 2015 Cristal is not a load-up type of vintage. If you're lookin' to blow some dough, make it rain on 2013 instead (even more so than 2008 in my opinion). For those holding the 2015, continue to do so, for like a decade. I don't know if it'll ever be a top flight Cristal compared to its siblings, but it's a fine wine in its own right.

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  • Pale color, very clean white nose. Good tension.
    For me not very much personality. Slightly sweet.
    Not quite my thing, I'm more into Dom.

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  • To summarize all of my babbling below, this is drinking fabulously already but I do believe it is destined for so much more. The nose is initially quite smoky but that quickly dissipates to reveal rich fruity, toasty and mineral aromas. The palate on the other hand is rather citrus-centered at this point in its evolution but you can tell that there is a great deal more to come if you can just be patient and not drink through your holdings too quickly (may this serve as a reminder to myself for the other bottles in our cellar!)

    APPEARANCE:
    Color & intensity: pale gold

    NOSE:
    Intensity: medium (+)
    Aromas: toasted almond, baked yellow apple, mirabelle plum, toast, smoke, red apple, crushed chalk, lemon, white flowers
    Development: developing

    PALATE:
    Sweetness: dry
    Acidity: medium (+)
    Alcohol: medium
    Body: medium
    Mousse: delicate
    Intensity: medium (+)
    Flavors: lemon, yellow apple, toast, toasted almond, mirabelle plum, smoke, lemon zest, crushed chalk, hints of salt and smoke
    Finish: medium (+)

    CONCLUSIONS:
    Quality level: outstanding
    Potential for ageing: a bit youthful for our personal tastes but can drink now; very good potential for further ageing

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  • 2015 Louis Roederer Champagnes (Flor Wines, Portland OR): The nose is fresh and succulent with forward tones of nectarines, limes, quince, apples, honeydew melons, custard notes, warm pastries, pears, yellow flowers, and some vanilla bean. There is good complexity, but this lacks the depth and elegance that I normally would associate with Cristal even at this level of youth. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and refined with crisp, high acidity. There is good texture to this, but that lack of depth is still present as the tones sit more on the surface or with just one layer. For me, this was disappointing. The 2015 vintage has been all over the place for me and this was a bit of a miss. I expected a more forward take, but this lacks depth and the melon note bothers me a bit too much. I would love to try it again and in a setting where I can spend more time with it, but it won't be on my dime.

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  • Nose is pronounced and already drinking well despite its youth. Notes of toast, biscuit, bread, yeast, apple, pear, lemon. High acidity and well balanced on palate.

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  • (At the Baccarat Hotel NYC, by the glass) Absolutely world class great. Tremendous energy--invigorating, even. Bracing acidity and the cleanest lemon flavors imaginable. Not oxidative--all about the pure lemon fruit. If I could start every evening with a glass of this, I'd be very happy indeed!

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  • A Few Champagnes from K&L Tent Tasting (San Francisco): Slightly toasty. Medium weight. Complex mix of soil and ripe pear. Excellent acidity, outstanding length, and beautiful zesty citrus on the end. Impressive.

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  • Killer, I like the '15 vintage in general, should be good younger showing vintage a la '07? K&L Tent Champagne tasting

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  • Small friends gathering (Q by Peter Chang - Bethesda, Maryland): Expressive nose displaying concentrated sweet yellow fruit, baked apple, a hint of lemon curd, lemon, honey, brioche, smoke, a hint of white flowers and limestone. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of perfectly ripe sweet yellow fruit, very fine generous mousse, rich and sweet but also very precise and focused, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral, and a long concentrated sweet yellow fruit driven mineral finish. It displays the ripe 15 character. This is a big concentrated style of Cristal, closer to the 12 in style but a bit riper.

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  • Cristal Night; 9/6/2023-9/8/2023: Served in a flight with '12 & '14: I felt this was quite big and burly, and lacking the freshness the '12 (also a fruit forward wine) showed. I'd take the '12 over this.

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  • Lovely nose. Quite full bodied. Gunpowder old apples and milk chocolate. Not as sleek as the 2013 but overall very good. Kept on developing during the evening

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  • Along side 2002, this is the second time in history that Cristal uses all the grand cru sites to produce this vintage. Nose is pronounced and already drinking well despite its youth. Notes of toast, biscuit, bread, yeast, apple, pear, lemon. High acidity and well balanced on palate. Will improve with time. Decanted for around 1 hour.

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  • I was shocked how approachable this was this early on. A beautiful wine even in its infancy. Will only get better. Wow.

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  • Served as part of a wine menu (at L'Assiette Champenoise) and paired very well with caviar. Lightly golden coloured. On the nose the wine does not seem particularly significant, yet the wine offers a beautiful silky texture, elegant mousse and a gorgeous lingering aftertaste.

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  • 10th MW Symposium, Wiesbaden - Day 3: For the first time since 2002, the 2015 vintage comes from all 45 vineyard parcels over 20 years old that are eligible for the assemblage of Louis Roederer's legendary cuvée.

    -/-

    Big, creamy, yeast citrus, fresh, broad, ripe, showing depth, multi-layered, complexity. Palate again shows freshness, juicy, cream, elegant, balancing acidity, citrus, grapefruit, pear, apple, beautiful carbonation, med finish

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  • Very tight. Nose needed coaxing. At Champagne Tasting w/Masion Dist Rep at Binny’s. Clashing grapefruit, stone fruit, citrus, with a tinge of chauk on the finish. This seriously needs to lie down. Would wait until at least 2029 before sampling again. No news yet whether a Rose will grace the stage with this particular vintage. A very fine wine for those patient enough to wait.

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  • Champagne appreciation - Louis Roederer: a complex and layered bouquet subtly works it way thru the nose: white flowers, yellow stonefruit, lemon meringue, wet stone, baking pastry, orange blossoms and zest. still fresh and bright, in the mouth it feels a bit more open. toasty and creamy flavours are the base over which different layers appear, hinting of a depth that will take time to uncoil. impossibly long persistence that seemed to reveal more layers than the palate.

    as with all Cristals, this one will need a bit of time to hit its stride… i'd say another handful of years.

    dosed at 7 g/L; blend of 60% Pinot Noir/ 40% Chard.; saw 25% fermentation in oak and no malo

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  • Tasting a few Louis Roederer champagnes (K&L Wine Merchant - Redwood City): Aromas of fruited stones (as if someone had to cut fruits on a stone, leaving the juices to dry on the surface), and white flowers. Clean, light and fresh aromas. Almost too light, the nose seemed a bit muted. It was kind of a struggle to get anything from the nose for a while.

    Flavors of ripe, deep yellow stone fruits like peaches, straw and an awesome minerality. The mineral streak here makes the ripe fruits seem almost dry, providing excellent balance.

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