2013 Champagne Cristal Roederer - Brut | € 300,00 (€ 363,00) |
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IN DE PERS 98 William Kelley - robertparker.com (September 2021) I've revisited Roederer's 2013 Cristal four times since I reviewed it in April of this year—including several times from my own cellar—and I had to admit that even my lavish praise didn't do it full justice. Combining the cool-vintage cut of 2008 with the more completely mature fruit of 2012, the 2013 Cristal might well be said to represent the perfect combination of the two from a purist's perspective. The wine unwinds in the glass with notes of crisp orchard fruit, white flowers, almond paste and citrus oil, followed by a medium to full-bodied, seamless and multidimensional palate that's intense but weightless, with racy acids, a pinpoint mousse and a long, penetrating finish. Drink the 2008 Cristal on its own, and you're unlikely—to put it mildly—to have any complaints; but compare it directly with the 2013 and you'll see Roederer's rapid progress in the vineyards writ large. Drink 2025-2060. Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon never seems to rest on his laurels. Roederer is already one of the region's leaders in farming, having committed, two decades ago, to a plan that most other grandes marques are only now beginning to emulate—an evolution outlined in more detail in the March 2020 Week 1 Issue of The Wine Advocate, to which I refer readers looking for more insights into this house's methodology. This year's news, nine years in the making, is the end of Brut Premier and its replacement by Brut Collection: a new cuvée that's thoroughly described in the accompanying tasting notes. Meanwhile, Lecaillon continues to tread where others will follow: he's rethinking bubbles in light of the richer, more vinous wines delivered by a warmer climate, opting for lower atmospheric pressure in some cuvées than others (something for which there's ample historic precedent in Champagne, I should add). If wine is a cultural as well as an agronomic product, Lecaillon's tenure chez Roederer is amply demonstrating what can be achieved when a chef des caves isn't merely a technician but rather someone who understands what excellence in wine is all about. 96 William Kelley - robertparker.com (April 2021) Notes of crisp yellow orchard fruit, white flowers, blanched almonds and warm brioche introduce the 2013 Cristal, a full-bodied, layered and incisive wine that's taut and chiseled but also notably exuberant in a vintage that I admire immensely but which can sometimes present an austere side. Deep, concentrated and penetrating, it's complemented by a pinpoint mousse and concludes with a long, saline finish. Less introverted than its 2012 predecessor, readers won't regret trying a bottle of the 2013 Cristal young—even if I'd recommend forgetting some for a decade too. Drink 2021-2051. Louis RoedererLouis Roederer is het meest gereputeerd, onafhankelijk en familiaal Champagnehuis. Sinds 1776 staat het huis synoniem voor de allerfijnste Champagne, Louis Roederer erfde het huis in 1833 en gaf het zijn naam. Het huis overleefde zowel de Grote Depressie als Wereldoorlog II en werd leverancier van menig koningshuis. Naast het legendarische Cristal lanceerden ze in 1974 Cristal Rosé en in 2014 een “(2006) Brut Nature” naar een ontwerp van designer Philippe Starck. In 2021 werd Collection geïntroduceerd als een "multi-vintage bland" ter vervanging van Brut Premier. Met een ruim patrimonium van 240 hectare Grand Cru en Premier Cru, kan Roederer zelfstandig voorzien in 70% van zijn noden. Geen enkel ander Champagnehuis kan dit zeggen. In 2002 zetten ze als eerste "Grande Marque" de stap naar biodynamie. |