Cristal PERFECTION: Back-Vintage Champagnes — 1999, 2002, 2004, 2008

LOUIS ROEDERER
CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE
 

It's not everyday that you find a Cristal dating back 26 years, and we've got that 1999 vintage, along with three legendary vintages with perfect 100-point scores, among them the grand 2008, which earned the highest rating possible from no fewer than three critics. 

Add to that a 99-pointer, two 98-pointers, and a 97+-pointer, and you have 7 wines from the house of Louis Roederer that achieved, or came close to, total perfection.

Those many years spent in the cellar have enabled them to develop the complexity and maturity that only patience provides, and that separates them from most other Champagnes on the market.

The critics, naturally, have been falling all over themselves to praise them. 

Jeb Dunnuck, writing about the Cristal 2008, declared that "Champagne simply does not get any better," going on to describe the vintage as "a rich, decadent expression of Cristal... with no sensation of weight [that] just glides over the palate. Haut couture at its finest... majestic, profound, legendary." Vinous awarded the 2002 another perfect score, writing that it's "just off the charts. What else is there to say?... The texture, breadth and overall pedigree here is just remarkable... Simply eternal.” And here’s Vinous again, weighing in on the 100-point 2004: "nuanced, classy... incredibly delicious… [it] remains one of my favorite vintages here." 

Those scores will come as exactly no surprise to anyone who knows and loves Champagne, because Roederer has been at it since 1776 — yes, it’s as old as the United States itself. You could say they’ve learned a thing or two or three thousand.

A century after its founding, Tsar Alexander II commissioned the house to "take the exercise still further" and create a cuvée to his exacting taste. The crystal bottle that resulted contained fruit from seven great Crus, and set the standard for blending.

What matters more than the backstory, of course, is what hasn't changed over time — the slow, labor-intensive, exacting production methods that have remained largely unaltered across two-and-a-half centuries. Grapes sourced from the three main Champagne growing zones (Côte des Blancs, Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne) are still hand-picked, fermented in small batches, with blending done with the kind of care that would make an efficiency consultant weep.
There’s no such thing as a merely good bottle of Roederer or Cristal. Greatness is all that they release.

And this showcase offers a glimpse of what greatness looks like over time.

If you’re just learning about Champagne, and just beginning to build your cellar, focus on the standard Brut Vintage expressions (including magnums from 2003, 2006, and 2007), which offer a wonderful entry point to Roederer's consistency across multiple vintages. 

For most established collectors, you’ll want to zero in on the Cristal bottlings (including both the classic Brut and the Rosé expressions from 2005 and 2006), which showcase why this remains Champagne's most recognized luxury cuvée. As ever, Pinot Noir dominates the blend, with Chardonnay providing the counterpoint, and it's that interplay that creates the subtle, precise balance that separates Cristal from lesser efforts … and that makes it such a natural partner for oysters, caviar, lobster tail, sushi, or anything else possessing richness and intensity. 

Of course, this being Cristal, you don't need anything at all to go with them, just a few hours of (relative) peace.

That’s the beauty of Cristal: that it has a way of making the moment feel significant regardless of what happens to be on the plate or in the room, which, when you think about it, is the entire point of drinking it in the first place.

We can’t wait for you to dive into these back-vintage luxuries. Secure your bottles and cases today!