Cristal

Specification

Producer

Louis Roederer

Region

Champagne

Where

Reims, Champagne

Classification

Prestige cuvée

Grapes

Pinot Noir, Chardonnay

Vintage

1996

Case

Magnum, 1 x 1.5L OWC

Held at

Wine Tunnels, London City Bond (in bond)

Code

CRISTA961X150

About this wine

Cristal was created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia and is still sold in its clear glass bottle with a flat base. A blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Roederer's own grand cru vineyards, made only in the best years, it combines richness with precision and a fine, persistent mousse. Cristal is often enjoyable young but ages well, gaining toast, honey and depth over twenty years or more.

About Louis Roederer

Louis Roederer is one of the great family-owned Champagne houses, based in Reims. Its origins go back to 1776, and it takes its name from Louis Roederer, who inherited the business in 1833; it remains in the hands of his descendants, the Rouzaud family.

Unusually for a house of its size, Roederer owns most of the vineyards it needs, largely in grand and premier cru villages, and farms a growing share of them organically and biodynamically. That control of its own fruit underpins the whole range, which is crowned by Cristal, first made in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia.