Roederer Cristal 2008
The last couple of weeks have been extremely hot, with temperatures reaching nearly 40°C by the end of this week. In our experience, the best wine to drink when the sun is out is a sparkling one. This Friday we simply had to choose which bottle of champagne should be uncorked. ##
Ever since we received the Louis Roederer Cristal 2008 in our warehouse - about a month ago - we have been curious about this 100 points champagne. Not only did it receive 100 points from James Suckling, this champagne was also rated with a stunning 97+ points by Parker. These high scores come as no surprise, since this is a remarkable Roederer in many ways.
The 2008 vintage was bottled in 2009 and aged for a period of 8.5 years on the second lees. This is longer than any Cristal champagne has ever aged before. In total the 2008 has aged nearly 10 years before being released.
Not only the process is remarkable, the wine itself was beautiful too, and radiated the excellence Cristal is known for.
When opening the bottle we were immediately welcomed by a pleasant aroma of citrus fruits, white fruits and some chalkiness. Though aged for ten years already, the champagne was still young, but this was expressed by a very pleasant acidity. I’m not even sure if this is a bad thing. Though there was still enormous potential, the acidity made for a beautiful balanced bouquet.
Parker describes the Cristal 2008 as:
“This is a great vin de terroir, a dense and elegant Super-Cristal that goes straight and precise as a laser beam over the palate but also has texture in the form of sensually fleshy fruit.”
After the first taste of this wine, we immediately understood what he meant with this “laser beam precision”, what a lively taste and what clear notes of citrus and minerals. A wonderfully balanced champagne with hints of the aforementioned citrus, but also notes of white fruit, some herbs and a subtle tone of vanilla.
What a beautiful and complex Cristal! Give it a couple of years to develop even further and this might even become a Cristal that can live up to compete with the legendary 2002.
BOW 9+
Blog by PB
