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Cristal is an elite and expensive champagne with a rich history. The brand belongs to the French company Louis Roederer and is considered one of the most prestigious in the world. Among the collections of the manufacturer are sparkling wines aged for more than two decades. The Cristal brand has become a cult favorite among celebrities from the world of music and cinema. Champagne is marked with the vintage year.
Historical information
The old winery was founded in 1776, but the company gained worldwide fame when Louis Roderer became the owner. The entrepreneur set a goal to get new wines with a well-recognized taste that would be different from the rest. Roderer purchased new varieties of grapes, chose sites for planting and carefully looked after the vines. This approach has paid off, and the production of the wine house has become widely known in France and abroad.
The famous Cristal champagne was created for the emperor of Russia. The best cuvée prestige wines were bottled in crystal. According to one version, Alexander II liked transparent dishes, according to another, the tsar, who survived several assassination attempts, was simply afraid of an explosive device that could be carried into the palace in a dark glass bottle. Wine house Louis Roederer received the status of supplier of the imperial court and bore this honorary title until 1917.
After the revolution, the production of the drink was temporarily suspended. Again, elite champagne was released only after the end of the Second World War, but already in ordinary bottles with a flat bottom. A new round of brand success came in the mid-90s. Champagne has become popular at celebrity parties and has earned mentions in several rap songs. Louis Roederer is still a family business run by the descendants of the original owners.
Production features
Louis Roederer produces wines from its own grapes, which is a rarity in France. The company owns 240 hectares of vineyards located in the best wine-growing regions of the country. Each site is selected with its own special care in order to obtain crops of exceptional quality. Grapes are harvested by hand, trying not to damage the berries. The juice is squeezed right at the harvest site, making it easier to trace the origin of each batch of wine.
At the first stage of fermentation, experts constantly take samples of raw materials. The contents of the containers are classified by character, taste and aroma. Observation continues until the full maturation of the base wine.
Champagne “Crystal” is made only in those years when the harvests of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes reach their full maturity. The minimum aging period for champagne is 6 years. After removing the yeast sediment, the bottles are kept at rest for another 8 months.
Cristal is produced in limited quantities due to complex production – no more than 400 thousand bottles leave the plant’s production lines annually. Wine can be stored for more than two decades without loss of quality. Bottles are still made from crystal.
The orange paper packaging protects the contents of the container from light. Gift items are decorated with gold, silver, trimmed with leather. The collection of wines in 2002 was designed by the famous French designer Philippe di Meo.
Interesting Facts
- Each bottle of wine is labeled with its own identification number. On the company’s website, you can find out all the details about the purchased wine by entering the numbers in a special window.
- Hidden advertising Cristal was shown in Quentin Tarantino’s film “Four Rooms”, where champagne has become a symbol of the beautiful life of Hollywood stars. The hero of the film, played by the famous director himself, drank elite wine straight from the bottle.
Types of Champagne Crystal
Crystal, 12%
Champagne varies by year of manufacture – each collection has its own aging time. Cristal 2008 was aged in cellars for ten years. Part of the base wine undergoes primary fermentation in oak tanks. The taste depends on the climatic conditions in which the grapes ripened. Champagne 2009 is characterized by notes of cocoa, roasted hazelnuts and licorice, and a year earlier, winemakers managed to get a drink with a pronounced taste of liquor. Aromas include flowers, ripe fruits and spices.
Pink Crystal, 12%
The grapes for this champagne are harvested in the old vineyards of the commune of Ay, famous for its limestone soils. 20% of the juice goes through primary fermentation in oak barrels. The holding period is at least six years. The color of the wine is pale pink with honey tints. Shades of taste depend on the year of harvest, forest and garden berries predominate.
Cristal Vinotheque, 12%
The collection has been aged in cellars for more than two decades on cork-covered racks. The removal of yeast sediment was carried out with particular care to avoid damage to the container and loss of precious wine. The Vinotheque line features a 1995 vintage. Champagne has a multifaceted aroma and an extremely deep taste. The series has a limited number of bottles.
Cristal Vinotheque Rose, 12%
Limited batch of twenty-year-old pink champagne. The sediment was removed from the wine ten years after storage, after which the wine matured for the same period. The collection was created from the 1996 vintage. The aroma combines notes of red fruits and raspberries. The years have given the wine a silky texture and a perfectly balanced bouquet, which the manufacturer compares with umami – the fifth taste that is distinguished in the countries of Southeast Asia.
