“For me, 2008 is a classic, cool-climate year; it was dry, but with a cool summer, which brought a lot of freshness, making it on line with 1996 and ‘88 in terms of climate,” he said, adding, “Except there is a bit more density in the 2008.”
When asked why he has kept this year’s Cristal for a longer period, he said, “Because it needed it… we saw the 2008 moving very slowly, whereas the 2009 moved more classically.
“It took time for the 2008 to calm down its acidity, it is a high-acid year, and you have to get this rounding of the acid, and only time can give that,” he said.
A further first for the 2008 Cristal concerns the dosage, which is the lowest ever added to the prestige cuvée. “We are less than 8g/l, which we have never done before,” he said, having brought this final addition of sugar down from 9-10g/l in recent history, and 12gl in the 80s."
Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, cellar master
2008 Louis Roederer Cristal
OMG…….what an ELEGANCE. In addition the 2008 Christal shows such a remarkable purity and minerality. No doubt, it´s all about elegance and not power. One of the best Cristal ever produced.
If you’re in so cal, Costco has the 2008 for 219/bottle! Just call before you go to make sure they have it in stock, as I just picked up a few yesterday!
I would say that the vintage 2008, cool-climate vintage, makes all the difference.
Regarding the vintage 2008, you see it also with 2008 Grand Cru Rieslings in Germany…razor-sharp with huge acidity and such pure. Really great vintage and in general all cool-climate vintages in Germany are outstanding like 2010 and 2013 too.
I would say 2008 comes very close to Krug in this vintage.
I’ve never found Cristal to have the opulence that Krug and to a lesser degree DP have. I’ve typically found it a bit more elegant and acid driven, while still having plenty of fruit. Even in 09 which is a richer, warmer vintage, the 09 cristal isn’t particularly opulent, while the 09 DP is much more fruit forward and generous. I would characterize 08 to be more like a better 04. I’m excited to see what the grand marques do in 12, which I think is an even better vintage.
Opened last night. This is potentially a great wine but imho you can get a similar experience with 2004 and probably the 2008 Comtes for almost half the cost.
It’s true, but one can say that 99.9% of the time. There are always a lot of great options in the market. Putting the unfortunate price bump aside:
As I think I said elsewhere, I thought ‘08 Cristal was the star among dozens of the world’s best Champagnes at the Fête last month. And I went in expecting to be disappointed with it. I was also not alone in thinking it was the star. And generally Roederer and Vilmart that day were on another level for my palate.
I’m looking forward to ‘08 Comtes. We will see what happens to pricing.
I might be sliding down the rabbit hole of personal taste but this Cristal seemed very generic compared to the individuallity of 08 DP, 02 Krug or 08 Vilmart especially since the 08 Cristal garnered huge scores from the critics. I’m going to open another bottle tomorrow from a different source.