The Imperial
Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne Brut
ChampagneChampagne
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
12%, contient des sulfites
Méthode traditionelle
8-10°C
Excellent with refined, precisely prepared dishes such as pan-fried lobster with lemon butter, turbot with beurre blanc or scallops on a bed of cauliflower cream. Caviar, white truffle or a mature Comté also impressively showcase its complexity.
Louis Roederer was founded in Reims in 1776 and remains independently family-owned to this day. From 1833 onwards, Louis Roederer consistently relied on its own vineyards, thereby establishing the house’s exceptional control over its grapes. Cristal was created in 1876 at the request of Tsar Alexander II, in a transparent bottle with a flat base. Today, this prestige cuvée is a pure vintage champagne made from the house’s finest Grand Cru plots and embodies a connection between terroir, precision and foresight that has developed over generations.
Bright golden yellow with an extremely fine, persistent effervescence. Yellow peach, mirabelle plum and candied lemon mingle with red berries, toasted almonds and delicate pastries. On the palate, it is dense and silky, yet at the same time energetic and with chalky precision. The long finish is salty, citrusy and subtly smoky – powerful, without losing any of its finesse.
For Cristal 2015, 25% of the base wines were vinified in wood; malolactic fermentation was entirely omitted. After more than six years of bottle ageing on the lees, the champagne was dosed at 7 g/l and was allowed to rest further after disgorgement.
The grapes come from 45 Grand Cru plots in Verzenay, Verzy, Beaumont-sur-Vesle, Aÿ, Avize, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Cramant. Old vines on medium-sloping hillsides and deep chalk soils lend Cristal its mineral tension, freshness and exceptional ageing potential.
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