Created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II, Cristal was the world’s first Cuvée de Prestige. Crafted from Grands Crus from the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs, and the result of a unique savoir-faire and devotion, this rare champagne is the jewel in the Louis Roederer crown.

Owner of vast vineyards (totalling some 500 acres) that supply the majority of their fruit, Roederer also presides - by design as well as due to that vastness - over a mind-bending number of micro-vinifications, divided entirely between tanks and foudres, supplemented by a concomitantly deep and diverse range of reserve wines.

Symbolic of the perpetual quest for excellence that define Roederer today led by Frédéric Rouzaud, Cristal is also radically different to any other champagne on the market.

The newly born Cristal 2008 comes to us with a patient heart, full of promise. It has been shaped by time and by its unique chalky soils and is now ready for us to enjoy after ten years of ageing.

Time has worked its magic. Cristal is a giant with a patient heart. It is still brimming with youth, even after many long years spent resting in the cellars. The chalk has concentrated its texture and given it its unique energy and surprising depth. Its pure tension, opulence and remarkable persistence take it above and beyond any limits. It asserts its presence, flowing as sweetly as a mountain stream, yet structured by the strength and concentration of the vintage. - Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master.

Amber hue with green and orange tints. Fine, even and lively sparkle.

Complex and intense bouquet disclosing candied citrus, yellow fruit, Williams pear, pollen and toasted almond.

The delicately seductive bouquet shows intensity and well-honed precision.

"It is a tribute to the special qualities of the 2008 vintage that this Cristal has benefitted from longer in bottle than any other Cristal: 10 years. More malo and a little more oak on this wine that Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon claims is all the better for the lessons learnt with the similarly high-acid 1996 vintage. Just one sniff and you're assailed by the most extraordinary combination of density and lift. There's a hint of lime and it's extremely tight (I'd guess it has only just been deemed ready to release) and firm on the finish. But there is just so much pleasure to be had already. Super-fresh but so concentrated that there is no question of austerity. So much to dig into here. It will surely slowly unfurl but is already gorgeous. Hedonistic rather than intellectual. Very special. Drink 2018 - 2040.
19.5 Points."
(Jancis Robinson MW, JR Purple Pages, June 2018)