And Cristal rose 2014 for £1425/3.
Would really be nice to see some reviews for both of these. I think the '14 brut was released at £1200/6. The dollar is stronger now so the price in USD is the same. OTOH, that is a big jump for the rosé. '13 rosé is still available for £1185/3.
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13 was released at £780…
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The 2015 Cristal is open for business right now. Very bright, fruity, and a big contrast to the 2013 and 2014. It doesn’t have the same stuffing as the 2012 and isn’t as good as the 2009, but it shares the open character that the 2009 has always had. It is another winning vintage and one that will be fun to watch age. Personally, I rank it a little behind the 2008-2014 vintages, but that is relative as it still kicks a lot of butt and with a wine so open this young it can be tough to gauge full potential. It is better than the 2005-2007 vintages and possibly the 2004 as well.
The 2014 Cristal Rose is a cut above the 2013 Cristal Rose in my book, but behind the 2012, 2009, and 2008 Cristal Roses which were all legendary. I find the 2014 to have a bit more energy and fruit than the 2013 with a great mouthfeel and salivating finish. 2013 will improve and has the potential to reach the level of the 2014, but the 2014 may improve as well.
You really can’t go wrong with Cristal or Cristal Rose (or really anything Roederer) regardless of the vintage these days.
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Lol at $200 offer of legras st Vincent, the last offer was 80.
That was for a mag. 750s priced at $90.
Ahh, I see, 269 was for a 3 pack
Hi Brad,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, this is really helpful. While I like some vintages of Cristal from this century more than others, I feel they are all one of if not the best Champagne in each vintage. Sounds like the current releases will fall along those same lines.
Not sure where to put this, but since price increases at Moussé were mentioned above this seems correct. Terry Theise has some worrisome things to say about 2020 in new blends.
“The other three wines would have done the same, but they are perpetual reserves with 2020 being the most recent addition. And 2020 has a problem.
It’s definitely not unique to Cédric Moussé. In fact it is ubiquitous across Champagne, and this is – to say the least – distressing. It is an aroma and flavor somewhat like the 2015s, which is to say a grassy flavor not intrinsically irritating but simply alien to Champagne. What’s more worrisome is a suggestion of the nasty vegetal scents and flavors of the truly appalling 2011. It is not that extreme, and ladybugs weren’t the culprit. The nature of the culprit is “being considered,” and several hypotheses have been advanced.“
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Uh-oh. That probably merits it’s own thread…
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Thank you for posting this, really interesting. We have had a trickle of 2020s arrive and although, I am not detecting vegetal elements the unripe description rings true.
Mousse’s 19s were in my opinion the best champagnes they have released up until now, I think the hype has gone to their heads. A 30% price increase and from what we tasted very hard to justify to customers such an increase.
What I am finding more of interest are the current 2018 releases. The champagne from producers who released 2018 with a minimum of lees aging were not impressive and they fared much better in 2019 which seemed to suit this style of champagne. However champagne being released this year from the 2018 with an extra years aging on the lees are much more drinkable. They lack the acidity to make them great champagnes for aging but for short term drinking quite impressive.
Ugh. So the same problem the 2020 Chablis have applies to Champagne as well?
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I have no idea. I have only tasted one 2020 Chablis, and it was fine.
The 2020 (vs. 2015, 2011) issue should probably be handled in a different thread as this one has already been all over the place topic-wise. All I will say in this thread is that all 3 of these vintages are very different and the root cause likely not the same. 2011 IMO is clearly an issue with ripeness and mis-timed picking. That isn’t the case with 2015 or 2020 and these two are quite different from each other and both are not necessarily offensive. To stay on topic, I don’t think they will affect Champagne release prices.
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Lol at Cristal rose offer from vinfolio
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WK’s review of the 2015 Cristal is out: 95+. Interestingly, he had the opposite impression as Brad’s: “If the 2014 vintage was especially open and demonstrative, the 2015 Cristal is going to require more patience.”
I was talking to the MMD rep at a walk around tasting last night and he said he is going to bring in the '15 Cristal for the month of June and then pull it back until next year. I asked him about '14 rosé and he said not until next year. A friend of mine who is extremely well-versed in Champagne has had the '14 rosé and she said it was outstanding.
Just saw this on IG. If you click on it, you can read a detailed tasting note.
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CDG and LHR often have the best deals
Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Nicolas Francois 2008 just hit my local for $199. Thoughts on that pricing?
Same as Envoyer.
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