Louis Roederer Cristal 1995 in Giftbox

Lustrous pale gold appearance. Very expressive nose, with an intensely floral bouquet fragrant with scents of almonds, hazelnuts and white flowers. A generous, rounded, creamy attack followed by a touch of acidity to mark a finish of elegant persistence. Light, fresh, undoubtedly a wine of admirable magnitude with time. A wine in keeping with the Cristal tradition, bearing all the hallmarks of a timeless pedigree influenced by the slight austerity yet elegant vinosity of the 1994 vintage.

Cuvée Cristal is the ideal accompaniment to foods of great delicacy, particularly caviar, fish and sea-food such as John Dory, prepared oysters, scallops, lobster and crayfish.

A mild winter followed by a relatively warm but wet spring, then frost on 20 April damaged vineyards in Verzy and Verzenay. After a slow start to summer the flowering started nearly two weeks later than usual and coulure reduced potential yields by 20-30%. A spell of hot, humid weather at the end of June accelerated vine development. Throughout July and August there was hardly any rain and above average temperatures. Harvest began on 18 September for Chardonnay and 25 September for Pinot Noir. Ripeness in the Chardonnays was balanced by higher than average acidity in the Pinot Noirs auguring a good well-balanced vintage with excellent keeping qualities. Disgorged 2007. Dosage 8 g/l with the same wine. 57% Pinot Noir. 10% malolactic fermentation. Relatively large harvest. Quite a bit of evolution on the nose. Beautifully tightly knit and complex. Savoury finish. Real bite on the finish. Zesty – real zest! Long. Just slightly dry on the end.