2013 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne
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98RP
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97JG
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$399.99
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Decanter
Reviewed December 2022Created in 1876 to satisfy the demanding tastes of Tsar Alexander II, Louis Roederer’s Cristal has since become a symbol of luxury all around the world. Produced only during the best years, it’s made from 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, the grapes coming from 45 of the finest lieux-dits in the region. 2013 was a late bloomer, with flowering only taking place in July after a cool spring. The summer was ideal with long periods of dry and warm weather. One third of the wine is aged in oak and there’s no malolactic fermentation. Vincenzo Arnese: Packed with elegant yet powerful aromas of ripe orchard trees that merge with brioche and dry cookies. This is a harmonious and well-defined Champagne with integrated residual sugar and astonishing acidity. Divine! Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW: Lemon coloured with a pink hue. Like a blanc de noirs, with cherries and white fruit aromas. Balanced and suave. Goes from less to more, with an exceptionally long and complex finish. Amanda Barnes: Appealing notes on the nose of pastry dough and apple tart that are very open. On the palate there’s beautiful concentration with lingering savoury notes. Minerally and sophisticated. (Panel Tasting)
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Professional Reviews
98
Wine Advocate
One of the greatest wines of Louis Roederer’s contemporary chapter, the 2013 Cristal continues to impress. Tasted from magnum, which was disgorged in September 2024 with a dosage of 7.5 grams per liter, it wafts from the glass with a bouquet of white flowers, lemon zest and toasted hazelnut, mingling with iodine and smoke. Qualitatively speaking, it's “a copy of 2012 with a month longer growing cycle,” summarizes Lecaillon, and it's indeed true that these two wines represent the high points of the of the decade so far—as only time will tell what Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon will achieve with 2019. Expecting a crystalline, electric wine, given the cool, late-ripening season, the 2013 indeed delivers a Champagne that is bright, with incredible clarity and concentration, even if it’s undeniably a leaner version than its immediate predecessor. Since its release, I've enjoyed the 2013 Cristal several times from my own cellar, but having the opportunity to appreciate it from a magnum delivered an even more textural and seamless experience, emphasizing its chalky personality and laser precision. (KK)
98
Vinous
The 2013 Cristal, tasted from magnum, is an infant. Citrus confit, white flowers, chalk, mint and white pepper stain the palate with crystalline intensity and pure, saline-drenched intensity. Time brings out more floral, delicate dimensions of nuance. Readers lucky enough to find the 2013 in magnum are in for a tremendous drinking experience. (AG) 98+
97
John Gilman
The 2013 vintage of Cristal from Maison Louis Roederer is the only one in the last two decades to be made from fruit that was harvested in October, as global warming has pushed most picking dates in the Champagne region forward into September. Spring was cool and flowering in 2013 did not occur until the month of July- almost unheard of in recent times! The cépages this year is sixty percent pinot noir and forty percent chardonnay, with one-third of the vins clairs barrel-fermented for this vintage. As always, none of the vins clairs went through malolactic fermentation and the wine was finished with a dosage of eight grams per liter. The wine delivers a beautiful young bouquet of apple, a hint of pear, yellow plum, a complex base of chalky minerality, brioche and a lovely array of fruit blossoms in the upper register. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with impeccable balance, a superb core, laser-like focus, very elegant mousse and a long, vibrant and very classy finish. This has the structure to age long and gracefully and may well close down a bit over the next couple of years, but for the moment, it so seamlessly balanced that I find it very easy to drink out of the blocks (which is not customary for my palate with Cristal, which I usually want to bury in the cellar for a decade!). This is a very beautiful vintage of Cristal and a very, very worthy follow-up to the stellar 2012 version!
Staff Reviews
GW
Cinnamon and I enjoyed this with salmon en papillote that she prepared with a Dijon rub and fresh fava beans with parmesan. I love the hazelnut note on the generous nose of this Champagne, a signature of one of Roederer’s favorite grand crus, Verzenay. It also has great pullman loaf toast on the nose and in the mouth, and an incredible silky texture on the mid-palate. While this wine is light and seemingly effortless up front, one can find incredible depth and profound complexity when one spends time with it. It would be impossible to tire of this great Champagne. The back end is vivacious, bright and very long, telling the story of the chalk that it came from. While it is drinking great right now, the best years are in front of it, and given the track record of Cristal, this could easily be put down as a birth year wine for children born in 2013. It will last!
LM
Lilia McIntosh
Lilia McIntosh
Truly sublime Champagne with silky texture that supported by lovely freshness and crisp acidity but doesn't feel too sharp or austere. It shows great mineral depth and has a bit of soft brioche notes on the palate alongside with orchard fruit and white blossom aromas. This will develop nicely but, to be honest, this this so good it's impossible not to drink it already!
Notes
"The 2013 Cristal is made from an estate within their estate, and sourced from 45 mid-slope, old vine sites on the chalkiest parcels in the Côte des Blancs, Mountain of Reims and Grand Valley of the Marne. It is composed of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, and like the 2012, is treated to 32% barrel fermentation, mostly in very large oak uprights. It comes from one of the latest harvests in my career in Champagne, which did not start until October. This vintage has given the wine its brisk, zippy acidity, as the manicured, perfectly situated vineyard sites have given the wine creaminess and texture. It has it all." -Gary Westby, K&L
Details
| Type | Sparkling Wine |
|---|---|
| Origin | Champagne, France |
| Bottle Size | 750 mL |
| Alcohol Content | 12% |
| SKU | 1535733 |