2016 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut, Champagne

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.

98 points jamessuckling.com

he 2016 Cristal is a blend of 58% Pinot Noir and 42% Chardonnay with 7 grams per liter of dosage. No malo-lactic was performed here, and 31% of
the base wines were aged in French oak. The nose begins with bright red berry notes of fresh raspberries and strawberries before opening out to a complex undercurrent of saffron, white chocolate, talc, baker’s yeast, and emerging wafts of citron blossom and pear tart. The palate is very dry and spicy, not needing even a touch more sweetness thanks to the abundance of ripe berry and citrus flavors, delivering beautifully knit acidity and typically tiny, persistent bubbles. It finishes with notes of effervescent chalkiness and saffron flowers, leaving you reaching for another sip.

98+ points thewineindependent.com

The 2016 Cristal is a taut, incisive rendition of this benchmark bottling, unwinding in the glass with youthfully reserved aromas of citrus oil, white flowers, wet stones and subtle hints of sweet, buttery pastry. Medium to full-bodied, chiseled and racy, it's almost as electric as the brilliant 2013, with serious concentration, a pure core of fruit, chalky structuring dry extract and a long, intensely mineral finish. Given its tightly wound profile, my advice is to forget it in the cellar for a few years and work on the more open, outgoing 2014 in the meantime.

97 points robertparker.com

The 2016 Cristal is bright, aromatic and nicely lifted. Citrus peel white flowers, mint and a touch of chamomile all grace this understated, wonderfully refined edition of Cristal. Light on its feet and super-refined, the 2016 is exquisite in its understated beauty. I can’t wait to see how the 2016 ages and won’t be surprised it gains a bit of weight in bottle, as Cristal so often does. The blend is 58% Pinot Noir and 42% Chardonnay, so a touch more Char- donnay than the norm. Of the 45 parcels that make up the Cristal domaine, just 32 were used for the blend. Verzy and Verzenay dominate the Pinots, then Aÿ. Avize takes the lead in the Chardonnays, followed by Mesnil and Cramant. Dosage is 7 grams per liter.

96 points vinous.com

The 2016 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut is a finely sculpted, luminous Champagne from a vintage that offered both challenge and reward. Cristal is Louis Roederer's iconic prestige cuvée, produced only in exceptional vintages from Grand Cru vineyards that the house owns and farms biodynamically. The 2016 edition reflects the estate’s relentless precision and sensitivity to terroir, with a particular focus on chalk-rich soils and cool, east-facing sites that excelled in a year of early frost, mildew, and a late but dry and sunny harvest.

This cuvée is composed of around 58 percent Pinot Noir and 42 percent Chardonnay, sourced from the estate’s oldest vines across Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs. Fermentation is mostly in stainless steel, with a portion fermented in large oak foudres. The wine is aged for six years on lees and rested for several months after disgorgement to achieve full integration.

The nose is incredibly pure and vibrant, with aromas of white peach, lemon zest, green pear, crushed oyster shell, hazelnut and delicate pastry notes. The palate is precise and focused, offering citrus, Mirabelle plum, chalk and subtle almond nougat, wrapped in a fine, creamy mousse. There's an underlying energy and mineral tension that gives the wine its crystalline structure and long, refined finish.

Food pairing: exceptional with caviar, fresh lobster, scallop carpaccio, white truffle dishes, or aged Comté. Also magnificent as a contemplative wine on its own or paired with refined sushi.

Cellar potential: brilliant now for its poise and freshness but built to evolve over 20 to 30 years, developing layers of toast, dried fruit and savoury complexity while retaining its elegant frame.