Louis Roederer Cristal 2015 is made from a precise blend of 60% Pinot and 40% Chardonnay. The 2015 vintage marks the first time since the celebrated 2002 vintage that all 45 plots on the Cristal estate were used in the blend.
The 45 plots of the Cristal estate are all vinified separately. They are spread across the seven grands crus of Avize, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger for Chardonnay and Verzy, Beaumont-sur-Vesle, Verzenay and Aÿ, for Pinot Noir, but they are rarely all used in the final blend. This means the 2015 Cristal is precisely a 60:40 combination of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, as that is how the estate divides up
The harvest of 2015 was a dream year as expressed by the cellar master at the Louis Roederer Champagne House, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. Sunny, dry, no downy mildew, no rot. The cool, autumnal weather arrived in the first week of September allowing the picking, pressing and working the juices at an ideal low temperature to protect the juices against oxidation and loss of aromas.
Deep yellow hue with a lustrous sheen. Ultra-fine, dynamic bubbles. Intense, concentrated bouquet of yellow fruit (white peach, mirabelle plum) combined with a delicious concentrated toastiness in the form of roasted hazelnut and almond aromas. Perfect, seamless and complex marriage of the almond, wheat and sweet pollen notes from the Chardonnay with the juicy red fruit of the Pinot noir. Concentrated, energetic and vibrant on the palate, starting out as a silky, almost oily, caress, with soft flavors of candied citrus and iodised spices. Then the powdery texture becomes tauter and the pure, precise and chiselled freshness crescendos. The salivating finish is underpinned by slightly oaky, sappy and saline notes that create a simultaneous sensation of delicacy and concentration!
The bottles comes presented in a Louis Roederer Cristal branded box.
