Champagne Louis Roederer has released its latest vintage of its crown jewel, Cristal 2013 for Greater China market via its exclusive importer Links Concept.
The vintage is now available in Hong Kong and Macau starting from this month, and will be available in mainland China this summer, according to Links.
Originating from the Grands Crus of the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs, Cristal is the crème de la crème for the family-owned Champagne house.
Unveiled this week, Cristal 2013, like its predecessors, is described to “reflect the constant quest for excellence that defines the family-owned Champagne House now headed by Frédéric Rouzaud. Magnificently well-balanced and elegant, this new vintage literally gets to the very essence of this exceptional cuvée.”
Refinement and freshness at their very best
Harvested in October (the only October harvest in two decades), Cristal 2013 offers a mineral concentration at its peak with a magical depth drawn from this late harvest.
The longer vegetative cycle, the dry, bright summer and the slow ripening of the grapes up until the start of the autumn have given rise to two champagnes, a white and a rosé, that are remarkably well-balanced and fresh, the quintessence of chalky purity and the unique hallmark elegance of Cristal.
This year, the deeper, more complex and more saline Chardonnay takes the Pinot Noir to an even higher level pointing to a remarkable potential. Cristal 2013 promises to be a great Champagne, but also more intense and crafted for long ageing.
A terroir vintage
It is the second Cristal that is made completely biodynamic following its first biodynamic release of 2012 vintage.
Louis Roederer has been practicing biodynamic farming for close to 10 years now and so far has converted 50% of its holdings, while the other 50% is still organic.
Both a white and rosé Cristal have been released. The white is a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, and has 8g/l dosage.
The rose is blended from 55% Pinot and 45% Chardonnay. Its dosage is lower at 7g/l.
