Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne 2016
Louis Roederer Cristal 2016 is the wine the whole house is built around, and Roederer only make it in years they think deserve it. The fruit comes from 45 organically farmed plots across seven Grand Cru villages, and for 2016 only 32 of those plots were good enough to make the blend.
It is 58% Pinot Noir and 42% Chardonnay, a touch more Chardonnay than Cristal usually carries. Picked between 15 September and 1 October, with 31% of the base wines fermented in oak and the malolactic blocked. That last part matters. Blocking the malo is how Cristal keeps its line of acidity instead of going soft and buttery.
2016 was a hot year and it shows in the texture. White flowers and roasted citrus on the nose, ripe yellow peach underneath, then the chalk turns up on the palate and runs the whole length of the finish. Saline, almost oyster shell. Dosage is held at 7 grams, so it reads properly dry.
Roederer reckon this one is more approachable young than most Cristal, which still means taut. Open it now and it will carry any occasion you point it at. Leave it a decade and you will have a different wine. Reviewers are calling twenty years minimum, so there is no wrong answer.
The details
- Producer: Louis Roederer
- Vintage: 2016
- Variety: Pinot Noir 58%, Chardonnay 42%
- Region: Champagne, France
- Style: Prestige cuvée Champagne
- Dosage: 7g/L
- Bottle size: 750ml
- ABV: 12%