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2008 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne

2008 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne

100JD
100JS
100WE
99DC
99JG
99JM
99VN
98IWR
98RP
97WS
95BH
$449.99

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Hollywood: 1

100

Jeb Dunnuck

Reviewed December 2018
The 2008 Cristal is a perfect wine, and Champagne simple does not get any better. This incredible wine offers a beautiful perfume of clean, crisp fruits, layers of complexity in its toasted spice and white flowers, and an utterly seamless, yet powerful style on the palate. This is a rich, decadent expression of Cristal yet it’s still crystalline and elegant, with no sensation of weight, and it just glides over the palate. Haut Couture at its finest and this majestic, profound, legendary Cristal can be drunk anytime over the coming 2-3 decades. (JD)

Professional Reviews

100

James Suckling

Review Date: 07/2023
One of the masterpieces of this exceptional vintage (the last that was this cool). Ravishing nose of Amalfi lemon and white peach with hints of white chocolate, chamomile and oyster shell. Super-elegant and tightly structured with a hint of creaminess on the mid-palate adding tension. Very long steely finish carried by the linear mineral acidity. A cuvée of 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay, part of which (unusually for Cristal) underwent malolactic fermentation. Getting very scarce on the secondary market, partly because of the great aging potential!

100

Wine Enthusiast

Review Date: 12/2017
This latest incarnation of the famous brand is a superb wine. It is on par with, maybe even better than, the already legendary 2002. Its balance is impeccable: Apple and citrus flavors working with the tight minerality to give a textured yet fruity wine. Produced from Roederer's own vineyards which are mainly biodynamic, the wine has its own intense purity and crispness. It has amazing potential and is likely to age for many years. *Ranked #5 Top 100 Cellar Selections 2017* (RV)

99

Decanter

Review Date: 06/2023
A sublime Champagne from Cristal from the famous and much praised 2008 vintage, which Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon calls a ‘dry and cool year that was a replay of 1996’. ‘The 2008s are so good because all the cellar masters learnt from 1996 - we adapted,’ he said during the masterclass in New York. Sharp, tangy, seriously mouthwatering, direct and compelling with tension at the very beginning that slowly expands and widens as the flavours relax in the mouth. Brioche, toasty notes on the nose with just-ripe green and yellow fruit aromas. Great energy and confidence on show, with hints of white chocolate that offset the low pH and high acidity. Pure and expressive, this is a wine that really gives the emotion with flavour that just lasts and lasts in the mouth full of red berries and chalkiness. Simply divine. (GH)

Staff Reviews

GW
Gary Westby

Gary Westby

K&L Buyer
The most anticipated Champagne in my 20 years in the wine business is finally for sale. This has been so hyped up with 100 point scores that I figured it couldn't possibly be as good as the critics say... But it is. This is the most concentrated, long finishing Cristal I have ever tasted, and so loaded with chalky minerality and bright vivacious acidity that one could mistake it for a blanc de blancs. But then the hazelnut cream Verzenay Pinot Noir swells up to balance everything out, leaving me at a loss for words. The big shame is how much will be drunk down immediately (it is all too delicious right now) since the real story is the long term ageability of this masterpiece!

Notes

This great Cristal is composed of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, all from organically farmed, estate vineyards in the mid-slope "golden band" of the Mountain of Reims, Côte de Blancs, and Grand Valley of the Marne. For the first time ever, the winemaking team at Roederer decided to do 20% malolactic fermentation due to the massive concentration and acidity of the wine. The wine is so packed and vivacious that they decided to release the 2009 ahead of it so as to give the 2008 the time it needed. This is special stuff, and Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, cellar master of Roederer says it is the best wine he has made in 30 years at Roederer. And he is not a man prone to hyperbole! Originally created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II, Cristal remains Roederer's estate-grown tête de cuvée and is produced only in vintages the house deems suitable. The 2008 sits at a notable transition point for the house, with Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon's team leaning further into organic farming and extended aging before release.

Details

OriginChampagne, France
Type/VarietalOther White Wines
Alcohol Content12%
SKU1344997