In 1974, almost 200 years after the establishment of the Champagne House of Louis Roederer and 100 years after the creation of Cristal, Jean-Claude Rouzaud decided to create the Cristal Rosé cuvée.
To achieve this, he selected old-vine Pinot noir grapes (using massale selection, which involves propagation from the vineyard's most successful plants) from the finest grand cru vineyards of Aÿ. The limestone bedrock and unique calcareous clay soil enable the vines (in the best years) to attain exceptional fruit maturity, complemented by a pure and crystalline acidity that is a perfect evocation of the Cristal style. Today, the vineyards are cultivated according to biodynamic principles.
Tasting Notes:
With its trim, ripe fruit and delicious texture, Cristal Rosé 2014 shows incredible precision. An almost electric delicacy with great intensity of flavour.
Pink hue with slightly coppery tints. Dynamic bubbles forming a lingering bead.
Pure, precise and dazzling bouquet. The intense Pinot noir aromas take us back to the harvest time with its
pure, ripe and concentrated fruit: zesty red berries (red currants, wild raspberries, blackcurrants) and raspberry liqueur. Then come sweet spice and smoky notes with a hint of reduction (smoky, spicy) from the Pinot noir with its notes of undergrowth.
Concentrated and broad on the palate, where the red fruit (strawberries, raspberries) is concentrated into a firm, dense texture that reveals itself in two stages that reflect the year's extremes: Initially the texture is silky and broad on entry (the final ripeness) and then followed by a firm and intense freshness (the cool summer).
We have a sensation of concentration, of a whirlwind of flavours that burst delicately and gradually like salt bubbles on the palate. The saline, iodine impression combines with the smoky notes and acidity to create umami and an infinitely flavoursome finish.