Cristal 2013

The wine in this vintage

Cool and late, 2013 forced Champagne to harvest in October, by then a rarity, with healthy grapes and high acidity. It is a vintage of classic character that rewards patience and precision. Cristal 2013 heightens that tension: lemon, green apple, wildflowers, chalk and a subtle iodine note, with an incisive, saline and driven palate that stretches out on citrus echoes. Robert Parker awarded it 96 points. Already appealing for its clarity, this is a Cristal that will gain depth and complexity with a few more years in bottle. It recalls the great cool vintages of the past in its linear, almost austere elegance.

The producer · Louis Roederer

Founded in Reims in 1776 and led by Louis Roederer from 1833, the house is one of the few great Champagne houses still independent and family-owned, run today by Frédéric Rouzaud, a direct descendant, with cellar master Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. Its defining asset is its own vineyard holding, more than 240 hectares across the Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and Côte des Blancs, which covers most of its needs and gives complete control of the fruit, with a progressive move to organic and biodynamic farming. The name is inseparable from Cristal, created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia in its famous clear, flat-bottomed bottle and offered commercially from 1945. Made only in great years from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grown in the finest crus, Cristal embodies a luminous, silky style of crystalline purity. Since 1974 it has been joined by Cristal Rosé, born from old Pinot Noir vines in Aÿ.

Critics' scores

• 96 Robert Parker
• 18.5/20 Jancis Robinson

Technical details

Producer

Louis Roederer

Region

Champagne

Country

Francia

Type

Bollicine

Vintage

2013

When to drink

Hold, still evolving

Critics' average

96/100

Sizes

75 cl, Magnum 150 cl, Case of 6 × 75 cl

eWibe code

0640113