2009 Cristal

Roederer is among the houses that are releasing their 2009 tête de cuvées ahead of the 2008s. After having tasted the wines, that seems like a wise choice, as the 2009s are quite giving, while the 2008s are likely to require quite a bit of cellaring. These are four stellar wines. Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon and his team are doing brilliant work as they combine an artisan spirit of viticulture (especially with regards to biodynamic farming) and winemaking with the world of high-end, luxury cuvées. Champagne is full of talented winemakers, but Lécaillon is the only Chef de Caves I know of whose intellect and curiosity extends to the broader universe of wine rather than being limited to Champagne alone. That more worldly view comes through in brilliant Champagnes that are often at the top of the pack, as they are again in both 2009 and 2008. Simply put, Roederer's 2009s and 2008s are must-haves for serious Champagne drinkers.

Roederer is of course best known for Cristal and Cristal Rosé, so it is easy to at times overlook just how compelling the wines can be across the entire range. Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon runs a finely-tuned team at this historic house in Reims. The result is wines of consistent brilliance. This year Roederer is also releasing just the second vintage of the Brut Nature, a wine that continues to show terrific potential.

Roederer and longtime Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon have decided to release the 2009 Cristal this year, and push the 2008 back a year to 2017 because of the personalities of the respective vintages. The 2009 Cristal Rosé and a new edition of the Brut Nature, also 2009, are scheduled for later this year.

Roederer makes three lines of Champagne. The NV Brut Premier and Vintage Blanc de Blancs constitute the entry-level at Roederer, although the truth is that these wines are of such a consistently high level that they regularly outperform other wines in the same categories. The Brut Premier is the only wine in the range that contains Pinot Meunier and also the only wine where part of the juice undergoes malolactic fermentation, both employed to give roundness, softness and early accessibility. Roederer’s reserve wines are enough for well over 1 million bottles and span a number of years. The Brut Premier typically includes 30% or so reserve wines going back six to seven vintages.

The Vintage and Vintage Rosé are also reliably outstanding. The Vintage is typically 70% Pinot from Verzy and Verzenay and 30% Chardonnay . The Vintage Rosé is 70% Pinot from Cumières and 30% Chardonnay from several villages in the Côtes des Blancs. Lecaillon favors Pinot vineyards with a northern exposure as he feels wines from due south vineyards can be excessively heavy and ponderous. Richness in the Pinots is achieved through Draconian yields that are typically half of those the estate works with in their Chardonnay vineyards.

The top of the line Cristal and Cristal Rosé are two of my favorite Champagnes. Sometimes maligned for their relatively early release and a dosage that is on the higher side, the reality is that both Cristal and Cristal Rosé have a fabulous track record of aging spectacularly well in bottle. My impression is that the vast majority of Cristal and Cristal Rosé is drunk far, far too young. At a recent comprehensive tasting of the 1996s, Cristal and Cristal Rosé were both nothing short of extraordinary. I have rarely been disappointed by older vintages. Cristal is typically 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from a variety of grand cru villages, while Cristal Rosé is typically 70% Pinot from Aÿ and 30% Chardonnay from Avize and Mesnil. Much of the base wines for Cristal and Cristal Rosé increasingly come from biodynamically farmed vineyards, with the juice fermented in oak vats rather than steel, and with no malolactic fermentation.