Cristal 2008 Roederer, Heaven can wait

A breathtaking Champagne with a boldness and tridimensional broadness sets new sensorial horizons: Cristal 2008 Roederer.

When Maison Roederer presented in Italy (thanks to its historic importer Sagna) its Cristal 2009 not many people were surprised that it came out ahead of their 2008. The sunny texture of vintage 2009 convinced Chef de Cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon to move forward the debut of Cristal 2009 to February 2017, thus ahead of 2008, which was a cool year and Lécaillon decided to keep it in the cellar for at least 10 years. In fact, the 2008 harvest put many leading Maisons to the test, even Dom Pérignon which like Roederer had never before changed the chronological order in bringing out their vintages. However, because the 2008 growing season was so cool, some said too cold, enologists felt it best to let the wine age longer in the winery.

And yet everything began in the vineyards, in the womb of Mother Nature where the grapes evolved and Roederer decided that the role of man would be limited to protecting and safeguarding the grapes, intervening only in a delicate way to preserve the uniqueness of the terroir. The cultivation approach was such that Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon felt the need to create a new expression, viticulture familiaire, to indicate that the introduction of organic and biodynamic farming methods – an over 10-year process to convert all their 240 hectares of vineyards – was not just an ideological whim but thought-out decision that owner Frédéric Rouzeaud strongly wanted.

For Rouzeaud, safeguarding the vineyards and a less interventionist approach that is more capable of preserving the soil should be the obligatory path to preserve winegrowing in Champagne.

Cristal is the flagship cuvée of Maison Roederer, founded in 1776, and it was created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II. It was, in fact, the world’s first-ever Cuvée de Prestige and is still today a blend of grapes from 40 different parcels in the Grand Crus villages of Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and Cotes de Blancs. As for 2008, it was an exceptional vintage for the length of the growing season that was favored by constant sunshine but low temperatures, two elements that resulted in the grapes ripening extremely slowly. And with the lessons learned in 1996, Maison Roederer demonstrated it full savoir-faire with vintage 2008.

Cristal 2008 will make your head spin: profound, intense, concentrated and flowing, mineral in the way it reveals the delicate tension and creaminess of the chalky soil the grapes grow in. It is a breathtaking Champagne with a boldness and tridimensional broadness sets new sensorial horizons, where the pure definition of its elements set a path you can lose yourself in.

Creator Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon describes 2008 as his most successful vintage, “potentially better than 2002, the 1996 of our dreams”, meaning that had the 1996 harvest been delayed and had there been a greater malolactic fermentation, today we would not have a wine that is still so young. With Cristal 2008, it is clear that even at this young age it will be among the greatest Cristal ever and, according to Lécaillon, perhaps even better than the legendary 1988. As for Cristal Rosé 2008, it must still remain a secret.

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