2008 Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé, Champagne

As a group, the 2008 Champagnes are focused and tightly wound. The 2008 Cristal Rosé has plenty of those qualities, but what places it in a truly rarified category is its sheer depth and verticality. Vinous, powerful and resonant, the 2008 has more than enough stuffing to support decades of cellaring. For starters, it won’t be ready to drink for another 5-10 years.

99 points Antonio Galloni vinous.com

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Roederer's 2008 Cristal Rosé is a pure but textured, perfectly ripe, round, luscious and mouth-filling Champagne with power and concentration as well as a crystalline, elegant precision and stunning, citrusy freshness. Sourced in four biodynamically farmed plots in Aÿ (two vineyards with old-vines Pinot Noir on calcareous clay soils that can give exceptional ripeness but also crystalline freshness), Avize and Mesnil (one-third), the 2008 is a blend of 55% to 57% Pinot Noir and 43% to 45% Chardonnay and was fermented partly (15%) in large oak casks, with 16% having undergone malolactic fermentation. The unique light peach to pink-salmon colour as well as the combination of juicy ripeness and great freshness is the result of "infusion," a vinification method practiced at Roederer since 1974 to combine finesse and mineralization with depth and ripeness. Cristal Rosé is produced with the saignée process after a cold maceration of seven to ten days and, after being blended with Chardonnay, is fermented like a dry wine. The delicate and subtle bouquet of the 2008 Cristal Rosé is intense and fruity, intertwining red berry and sweet cherry aromas with floral flavours and a touch of caramel and nuts. On the palate, the 2008 is very elegant, fine, pure, precise and fresh but nevertheless dense, intense and fleshy, with lots of powdery chalk and a pure, very fresh, chalky-salty finish with zesty citrus flavours. The 2008 should have enormous aging potential. The Rosé was disgorged in March 2017, and the dosage is eight grams per litre. Drink 2023-2050.Tasted at the domaine in May 2018.