Cristal 2014

Louis Roederer

Units	Size	Case size	GBP Price:	Quantities	Buy
12	75cl Bottle	Case 6	£910 per Case	Cases	[Add to shopping basket]

Tasting Notes
Steeped in history and recognized as one of Champagne’s most celebrated bottlings, Cristal reiterates its modern place in the world of fine wine with its most highly rated version ever from Wine Spectator. It’s a triumph from the challenging 2014 vintage, with chef de cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon crediting the chalky soils for their ability to store water during spring’s dry period and drain it during summer’s rainy months. Harvested from up to 45 organically farmed plots owned by Louis Roederer’s Rouzaud family, this is a blend of 60 percent Pinot Noir and 40 percent Chardonnay, with 32 percent fermented in oak and no malolactic fermentation. The 2014 shows greater expression than usual on release, and its harmonious marriage of finesse and crystalline structure allows for aging as well as drinking now. Score: 98 Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator Maturity: 2022+ 30 June 2022
The 2014 Cristal is a terrific effort that transcends the vintage. Bursting from the glass with expressive aromas of ripe citrus fruit, nectarine, white flowers, freshly baked bread and subtle hints of honeycomb, it's medium to full-bodied, vinous and fleshy, with an exuberant core of fruit that's girdled by racy acids, resulting in a wine that's simultaneously chiseled and demonstrative, meaning that early appeal doesn't come at the expense of the requisite tension for long-term cellaring. Concluding with a long, aromatic and intensely chalky finish, it is a brilliant Champagne that will offer a broad drinking window. This bottle was disgorged in June 2021 with seven grams per liter dosage. Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon opted to harvest late in 2014, taking advantage of September sunshine and a concentrating north wind to pursue maximal maturity. The estate vineyards that inform Cristal were all picked in seven days and delivered musts with more than 11% potential alcohol, requiring no chaptalization. While the Côte de Blancs and Vallée de la Marne received double their average summer rainfall in 2014, figures for the Montagne de Reims were around average. Accordingly, the usually later-ripening vineyards of the Montagne were picked around the same time as those of the Côte de Blancs; and of the 45 parcels that typically inform Cristal, Lécaillon eliminated three from Avize and three from Aÿ, keeping everything from the Montagne. The resulting wine is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, none of which went through malolactic, and around one-third of which was vinified in wood; and it was disgorged—for the first time for Cristal Blanc—with jetting to preserve tension and aromatic range. So, what of the wine itself? After the tightly wound, remarkably complete 2013 and the muscular, concentrated 2012, the 2014 is very different, combining youthful expressiveness and chalky tension to striking effect. Already very demonstrative even less than a year after disgorgement, it is an aromatic, head-turning and incisive Cristal that will offer a broad drinking window. Indeed, I'd be inclined to approach it before the 2013 and 2012, even though the 2014, too, has everything it needs to be a very long-lived wine. Score: 96 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2021-2050 03 February 2022
The 2014 Cristal is another in a long line of gorgeous wines from Roederer and long-time Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. A dazzling, vibrant Champagne, the 2014 impresses with a stunning combination of fruit density and linear energy that brings to mind a hypothetical blend of 2012 and 2008. At times, the bubbles feel totally wrapped up in waves of creamy, resonant fruit to the point the mousse is barely perceptible, especially with aeration. The flavors are bright and finely sculpted, leaning very much into the citrus, floral and mineral end of the spectrum. The blend is a classic: 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay taken from 39 of the 45 parcels that comprise the Cristal estate. The 2014 Cristal is a riveting Champagne. Don’t miss it. Score: 98 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024-2064 01 February 2022

Tasting Notes

Steeped in history and recognized as one of Champagne’s most celebrated bottlings, Cristal reiterates its modern place in the world of fine wine with its most highly rated version ever from Wine Spectator. It’s a triumph from the challenging 2014 vintage, with chef de cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon crediting the chalky soils for their ability to store water during spring’s dry period and drain it during summer’s rainy months. Harvested from up to 45 organically farmed plots owned by Louis Roederer’s Rouzaud family, this is a blend of 60 percent Pinot Noir and 40 percent Chardonnay, with 32 percent fermented in oak and no malolactic fermentation. The 2014 shows greater expression than usual on release, and its harmonious marriage of finesse and crystalline structure allows for aging as well as drinking now.

Score: 98

Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator Maturity: 2022+ 30 June 2022

The 2014 Cristal is a terrific effort that transcends the vintage. Bursting from the glass with expressive aromas of ripe citrus fruit, nectarine, white flowers, freshly baked bread and subtle hints of honeycomb, it's medium to full-bodied, vinous and fleshy, with an exuberant core of fruit that's girdled by racy acids, resulting in a wine that's simultaneously chiseled and demonstrative, meaning that early appeal doesn't come at the expense of the requisite tension for long-term cellaring. Concluding with a long, aromatic and intensely chalky finish, it is a brilliant Champagne that will offer a broad drinking window. This bottle was disgorged in June 2021 with seven grams per liter dosage. Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon opted to harvest late in 2014, taking advantage of September sunshine and a concentrating north wind to pursue maximal maturity. The estate vineyards that inform Cristal were all picked in seven days and delivered musts with more than 11% potential alcohol, requiring no chaptalization. While the Côte de Blancs and Vallée de la Marne received double their average summer rainfall in 2014, figures for the Montagne de Reims were around average. Accordingly, the usually later-ripening vineyards of the Montagne were picked around the same time as those of the Côte de Blancs; and of the 45 parcels that typically inform Cristal, Lécaillon eliminated three from Avize and three from Aÿ, keeping everything from the Montagne. The resulting wine is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, none of which went through malolactic, and around one-third of which was vinified in wood; and it was disgorged—for the first time for Cristal Blanc—with jetting to preserve tension and aromatic range. So, what of the wine itself? After the tightly wound, remarkably complete 2013 and the muscular, concentrated 2012, the 2014 is very different, combining youthful expressiveness and chalky tension to striking effect. Already very demonstrative even less than a year after disgorgement, it is an aromatic, head-turning and incisive Cristal that will offer a broad drinking window. Indeed, I'd be inclined to approach it before the 2013 and 2012, even though the 2014, too, has everything it needs to be a very long-lived wine.

Score: 96

William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2021-2050 03 February 2022

The 2014 Cristal is another in a long line of gorgeous wines from Roederer and long-time Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. A dazzling, vibrant Champagne, the 2014 impresses with a stunning combination of fruit density and linear energy that brings to mind a hypothetical blend of 2012 and 2008. At times, the bubbles feel totally wrapped up in waves of creamy, resonant fruit to the point the mousse is barely perceptible, especially with aeration. The flavors are bright and finely sculpted, leaning very much into the citrus, floral and mineral end of the spectrum. The blend is a classic: 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay taken from 39 of the 45 parcels that comprise the Cristal estate. The 2014 Cristal is a riveting Champagne. Don’t miss it.

Score: 98

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024-2064 01 February 2022

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