LOUIS ROEDERER Cristal Brut Millesime 2008 Bottle

Description

Dom Pérignon 2008 is an extraordinary vintage that showcases the mastery of this renowned Champagne house. James Suckling awards it 99 points, noting its intense nose of bramble fruit, dried fruit, and floral hints, alongside remarkable concentration and a full-bodied character. Vinous also rates it 99 points, highlighting its chiseled and nuanced profile with flavours of crushed rocks, lemon peel, and white flowers. The Wine Advocate scores it 98 points, praising the vibrant bouquet of crisp orchard fruit, warm brioche, and superb concentration, balanced by racy acidity. This exceptional Champagne is perfect for drinking now, but it also has incredible aging potential, making it a distinguished choice for connoisseurs seeking a truly refined tasting experience.

*****

JAMES SUCKLING 100 points !!!
One of the masterpieces of this exceptional vintage (the last that was this cool). Ravishing nose of Amalfi lemon and white peach with hints of white chocolate, chamomile and oyster shell. Super-elegant and tightly structured with a hint of creaminess on the mid-palate adding tension. Very long steely finish carried by the linear mineral acidity. A cuvée of 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay, part of which (unusually for Cristal) underwent malolactic fermentation. Getting very scarce on the secondary market, partly because of the great aging potential! Tasted at the Cristal vertical tasting at the champagne house on July 6th, 2023. Drink or hold.

DECANTER 99 points
Tasted by: Georgina Hindle (at Manhatta, New York, 10 Jun 2023) Part of Louis Roederer masterclass: DFWE New York
Drinking Window: 2023 - 2050
A sublime Champagne from Cristal from the famous and much praised 2008 vintage, which Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon calls a ‘dry and cool year that was a replay of 1996’. ‘The 2008s are so good because all the cellar masters learnt from 1996 - we adapted,’ he said during the masterclass in New York. Sharp, tangy, seriously mouthwatering, direct and compelling with tension at the very beginning that slowly expands and widens as the flavours relax in the mouth. Brioche, toasty notes on the nose with just-ripe green and yellow fruit aromas. Great energy and confidence on show, with hints of white chocolate that offset the low pH and high acidity. Pure and expressive, this is a wine that really gives the emotion with flavour that just lasts and lasts in the mouth full of red berries and chalkiness. Simply divine.

VINOUS 99 points
Drinking Window 2024 - 2058
From: Vinous Icons: Roederer – Four Decades of Cristal & Cristal Rosé (Nov 2024)
The 2008 Cristal is just fabulous. Chiseled and nuanced to the core, the 2008 possesses dazzling intensity from start to finish. Crushed rocks, lemon peel, graphite, mint, lime, chalk and white flowers all race across the palate. This is classic Cristal in a cool, late-ripening year. - By Antonio Galloni on November 2024

Drinking Window 2023 - 2050
From: Roederer Cristal Full Circle: 1993-2015 (Dec 2023)
The 2008 Cristal is just starting to open and into its first plateau of what is likely to be a very long drinking window. Bright and intensely saline, with terrific depth, Cristal shows everything that makes this vintage so appealing, namely a captivating mix of fruit intensity and bright, piercing acids. As alluring as the 2008 is today, it also needs time to be at its very best. Roederer launched the more open 2009 ahead of the 2008, which means the 2008 saw ten years on the lees, quite a bit longer than most vintages, all of which it needed. The 2008 seems to presage a new era at Roederer in which the wines have been consistently brilliant. Dosage is 8 grams per liter. Disgorged: 2018 - By Antonio Galloni on March 2023

Drinking Window 2020 - 2050
From: Champagne – 2019 Fall Releases (Dec 2019)
The 2008 Cristal is one of the most complete, most dazzling Champagnes I have ever tasted. A stunning wine from any and all perspectives, the 2008 simply has it all. Spherical in construction, with superb persistence. The 2008 takes hold of all the senses and never gives up. One of the many things that makes the 2008 special is a combination of ripe fruit and bright, piercing acidity. Marzipan, lemon confit, dried flowers and orchard fruit all build into the explosive, resonant finish. “We learned from the mistakes of 1996, when we picked more on acid than ripeness, as was the norm in Champagne back then” Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon told me recently. “In 1996, the best fruit turned out to be the last picks, where the fruit was physiologically ripe. Today, we aim to pick all our fruit with that criteria.” - By Antonio Galloni on December 2019

THE WINE ADVOCATE 98 points
"Disgorged in September 2017 with 7.5 grams per liter dosage, the 2008 Cristal was produced from 37 of the 45 parcels that are candidates for inclusion in this cuvée—some 40% of which were farmed organically back in 2008—and it's a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. The finest young Cristal in decades, the wine wafts from the glass with a pure and vibrant bouquet of crisp orchard fruit, clear honey, warm brioche, citrus zest and white flowers. On the palate, it's full-bodied, intense and incisive, with superb concentration, racy acids and a long, searingly chalky finish. Pristinely balanced, there are some 500,000 bottles of this legend-in-the-making." - William Kelley, 03/2020 Drink Date 2022 - 2050