Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne 2016 (750 ml)

The 2016 Champagne Cristal is chalky and pristine, with a crystalline nature and notes of white peach, fresh citrus blossoms, and bright salinity.

Cristal 2016 is precise and focused, combining white peach and citrus blossom with profound wet-stone and chalk minerality. The palate has a pinpoint mousse, medium body, and remarkable tension, carrying a nearly weightless energy through the long finish. It is not an obvious or flamboyant wine in its youth, but its purity, balance, and structure point to exceptional longevity.

This has wonderfully pure fruit aromas, such as peaches, Asian pears and golden apples, alongside lemon curd, gingerbread, chalk and jasmine. Rock salt and oyster shells follow on the palate, which is so seamless that you scarcely notice the super-fine bubbles. It’s concentrated yet gentle at the same time, with impressive resolution and integration of all components. Salty and creamy at the very-long finish. Fantastic! 58% pinot noir and 42% chardonnay. Drink or hold.

It has a pure white fruit and honeysuckle aroma and tight, tangy fresh fruit flavors.

The wine shows Cristal’s characteristic balance between richness and concentration, with pure white fruit and honeysuckle leading the aromatic profile. Fresh, tangy fruit gives the palate lift and poise, while the texture remains polished and complete. It is beginning to drink well now but has the structure to improve for at least another two decades.

The finest rendition since 2013, the 2016 Cristal has turned out beautifully. A vintage that Lecaillon describes as “difficult in the vineyards but beautiful in the cellar,” it had suffered slightly in reputation due to the gloomy mood during the challenging growing season, but the results are indeed impressive. The fifth edition produced entirely from organically farmed and certified fruit, and heavily based on Pinot Noir, the 2016 represents the contemporary quality of Cristal, combining the concentration of 2002 with the precision and cut of 2013. Disgorged in July 2024 with a dosage of seven grams per liter, it opens in the glass to reveal a bouquet of lemon zest, white flowers and peeled almond, framed by youthful reduction. On the palate, it is bright and electric, with a pure core of fruit, pinpoint mousse and a textural attack, concluding with a long, saline finish. Drink it alongside the 2015, and it will illuminate its clarity and integration.

This leads with pronounced minerality on the nose, but then a bright burst of tangerine, blood orange and Meyer lemon flavors on the palate.

Citrus intensity is joined by crème de cassis, toast, pastry cream, and crystallized honey in a compact and statuesque Champagne. A refined, lacy mousse and strong mineral backbone create beautiful integration without sacrificing freshness. The persistent finish remains focused and restrained, promising additional expression with bottle age through 2044.