One of Champagne’s oldest houses, with an unrivaled, unmatched history of global greatness that would be the envy of any brand on planet Earth today... that is Roederer’s Cristal. People who’ve never drunk a glass of Champagne know the name Cristal. People who drink Champagne on the regular aspire to drink Cristal in their blue-sky scenario daydreaming. The opportunity is here, your chance has arrived. The winemaking team calls this release “a perfect combination of softness and concentration, matched by a masterful maturity...” and I’m heavily inclined to agree. This 60/40 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is crisp, balanced, and intensely vibrant – a veritable powerhouse of vintage Champagne that will drink pristinely for a decade at least.

Created in 1876 by the special request of Tsar Alexander II, this iconic champagne hails from seven Grand Cru vineyards spanning the Montagne de Reims, the Marne Valley, and the Côte des Blancs, and a total of 45 different plots to create one of the densest and most complex Champagnes available today. Grown in chalky, limestone soils, the fruit from these select vineyards enjoyed a freshness that was otherwise hard to come by in Champagne’s warm 2015 vintage. A careful fermentation of all of the separate lots creates the unique palette of the potential base wines, followed by rigorous blending trials with Roederer’s panel of master tasters over several months before the selection of the final base is agreed upon and transferred to bottle. From there, aging on the lees for a minimum of six years, followed by disgorgement and several rounds of dosage trials, to settle on this Brut-level dosage of 7 grams per liter. After another 8 months minimum of aging on the cork, this icon of Champagne is at long last released to hungry connoisseurs, collectors, and the like around the world.

Aromatically, the wine is as expressive as any new Cristal I’ve ever experienced. It is as inviting and approachable as any young Cristal I’ve ever tasted! Inviting sensations of lemon blossoms, spearmint, and lime zest, with a wet river rock and oyster shell crunch minerality. The flavors here are bright, chalky, fresh as well, with lemon meringue, and Rainier cherries, golden apples, and toasted almond slivers. The 25% oak aging for the base gives this beautiful note of croissant dough, but the blocking of malolactic fermentation keeps everything bright, zippy, and incredibly elegant. The flavors come alive over a few minutes in the glass and hint at the complexity still to come. Drink this on the younger side – anytime now through 2028 if the universe (and one’s willpower) allows!