I'm a Champagne girl through and through and I thought I would share a review of a golden liquid I was blown away with recently.
As you know, Louis Roederer’s Cristal is the Queen of prestige cuvees. Pol Roger’s Sir Winston Churchill is delicious, as is Dom Perignon and Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne but personally, there’s nothing quite like Cristal. I’ve felt this way for a long time, but it was during the Christmas holidays, where a bottle of 2002 Cristal was brought out by my father that my conviction was confirmed. Cristal is top dog and the 2002 vintage could well be its pinnacle.
2002 Cristal is currently in its prime. The bubbles hum away as the glass is poured, revealing the golden liquid. This is a Champagne that has crossed the flavour threshold from youth yet there is still so much vibrancy. You only have to hold the glass close to receive aromas of saffron, pastry, hazelnuts and lemon zest. With more swirls, honeyed pastry, baked peaches and brioche emerge; it keeps on going. On the palette, the flavours build into textural richness, but this is complimented by zippy acidity and chalky tension. The finish is long as you would expect in both flavour and mouthfeel. A glass of 2002 Cristal is almost too good to have anything alongside, but its vinous DNA is so strong that it can stand up to a variety of dishes. We had it with roasted chicken and it worked perfectly.
Before tasting 2002 Cristal last month, I would have said it might have been too young, but it is open and singing right now!
Louis Roederer, Cristal - Bordeaux Index Fine Wine & Spirits
For 15 years, Athan Zafirov has traveled the vineyards around the world and worked with some of the greatest chefs including Francois Duc and Alan Brown.
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