2013 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut, Champagne

Light straw-yellow hue. The bouquet is exquisitely complex, figuring toasted bread, dried fruits, dried flowers and much more, the taste intense and precise, powerful yet subtle, with beautifully balanced acidity and impressive depth of flavour. Wonderful lemon-citrus, faintly honeyed flavours. It has a refreshing, moreish dryness and cleanness on the finish and aftertaste. This is a very approachable Cristal, a lovely drink right now. (60% pinot noir, 40% chardonnay; 32% vinified in oak, zero malolactic. Dosage 8 grams/litre).

97 points Huon Hooke therealreview.com April 2021

Notes of crisp yellow orchard fruit, white flowers, blanched almonds and warm brioche introduce the 2013 Cristal, a full-bodied, layered and incisive wine that's taut and chiseled but also notably exuberant in a vintage that I admire immensely but which can sometimes present an austere side. Deep, concentrated and penetrating, it's complemented by a pinpoint mousse and concludes with a long, saline finish. Less introverted than its 2012 predecessor, readers won't regret trying a bottle of the 2013 Cristal young—even if I'd recommend forgetting some for a decade too.

96 points William Kelley robertparker.com Apr 2021 Drink 2021-2051