Champagne Grand Cru Brut 'Cristal' Vintage 2014 (750 ml.) Louis Roederer

THE WINE

Our House’s most famous wine was created in 1876 to satisfy the demanding tastes of Tsar Alexander II. The emperor asked Louis Roederer to reserve the House’s best cuvée for him every year. He was particularly fond of the House’s wine. To distinguish this cuvée, this exceptional champagne came in a flat-bottomed, transparent lead-crystal bottle. The new brand was named after this precious material, which is particularly transparent and luminous.

Produced uniquely during the best years, when the Chardonnay (around 40%) and Pinot noir (around 60%) grapes have attained perfect maturity, Cristal is aged for 6 years in Louis Roederer’s cellars and left for a further 8 months after dégorgement.

Cristal is a remarkably balanced and refined champagne whose length is inimitable. It has a silky texture and fruity aromas, complemented by a powerful mineral quality with white fruit and citrus notes. Cristal is a wine that keeps well: it can be conserved for over twenty years without losing its freshness and character.

THE WINEYARD

The land is the source of our quality champagnes, but it is the painstaking work of our wine growers and oenologists at every step of their creation that makes them great champagnes. Wine growers and creators in a constant quest for perfection, the men and women who create the Louis Roederer champagnes know how to nurture the parcels—which are particularly exposed to the changeable climate—, by adapting the viticulture to the type of soil in each parcel. Our wine growers are perpetuating the age-old tradition of attaining optimal grape maturity while respecting the land and environmental biodiversity. The increasing use of biodynamic cultivation enables them to further enrich the palette of flavours at their disposal. THE HOUSE

When he inherited the Champagne House in 1833, the aesthete and entrepreneur Louis Roederer took a visionary approach to enriching his vines, aiming to master every stage of the wine’s creation. He forged the wine’s unique style, character, and taste. In the mid-nineteenth century, Louis Roederer acquired some of Champagne’s grand cru vineyards—an approach that contrasted sharply with contemporary practices..
 
While other Houses bought their grapes, Louis Roederer nurtured his vineyards, familiarized himself with the specific characteristics of each parcel, and methodically acquired the finest land. Louis Roederer’s guiding principle was that all great wine depends on the quality of the soil, a passion for tradition, and an astute vision of the future; the fame and reputation of the House of Louis Roederer was firmly established. His heir, Louis Roederer II was equally enlightened and adopted his father’s conscientious approach to the production of champagne, patrimonial estate management, and instinctive audacity.

THE COMPANY

Heir to the Maison de Champagne in 1833, entrepreneur and esthete, Louis Roederer takes the farsighted decision to enrich the vineyard to control all stages of wine processing and creates a style, a spirit and a wholly original taste. In the mid-nineteenth century, with the purchase of vineyards selected with instinct and eclectic spirit on the lands of the Grands Crus de Champagne, Louis Roederer goes against the current use of the time.
While others buy grapes, Louis Roederer takes care of the vineyard, deciphers the character of each plot and methodically acquires the best. Convinced that the quintessence of a great wine resides in the land, a lover of tradition and aimed at the future, Louis Roederer traces an exceptional destiny for the House that will then bear his name. His successor, Louis Roederer II, is animated by the same patient vision of champagne, the same patrimonial conception of the vineyard estate, the same resourcefulness.