Yes, it’s fantastic, but I always knew it would be. All the things I love about Cristal makes even more sense when clothed in vintage 2013. In the latest release of its eponymous cuvée, Louis Roederer has taken some beautiful vintage material and transformed it into haute couture.
“Cristal 2013 is 2008-plus!” says Louis Roederer’s chef de caves, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, at the start of our online taste and talk to mark the release of Cristal’s next chapter. In Champagne, statements don’t come more prodigious than this, on the back of 2008’s illustrious status which Lécaillon formerly credited for producing “the most Cristal of Cristals.”
Power, delicacy and freshness is to Cristal what classicism is to art. There is a harmony and balance that comes from the highest levels of craftsmanship – an adherence to an organic or biodynamic path, depending on vintage conditions, but also sensitive and protective winemaking.
Vintages that are classically cooler and slow ripening are where the finest Cristals are born. 2008 was one of these, but so was 2013, which Lécaillon says shares the same salty elegance and dryness.
“2013 is a beautiful vintage, but there are two problems with it; it comes after 2012 and there was such little of it for Cristal,” he says.
In 2013, the spring was cold and wet with delayed flowering until June and July – around one month later than usual. Hail fell in summer, though it was warm and sunny, and harvest was one of the latest in 20 years. What resulted, however, is greater than the sum of its parts; a more ‘classic’ vintage, by Champagne’s standards.
And while 2013 may share a more classic structure with 2008, their immediate appeal couldn’t be more different.
Lécaillon explains the variation as a measure of terroir, the influence coming from soil and sunshine where the aim - in Cristal’s case - is to achieve a 50/50 balance.
“Here we are right in the middle. 2008 was more soil and 2012 was more sunshine, but [2013] is the ideal target. It’s super elegant – there’s some extra flavour as well as saltiness.”
On biodynamics
2013 is the second biodynamic release of Cristal, the first being its predecessor from 2012, which was different altogether.
Overall, 2012 was warmer and the wines, fruitier, with considerable texture and roundness.
Under a biodynamic regime soil treatments ease vine vigour during periods of warm, sunny weather and achieve a comfortable nexus between freshness from soil and roundness from sunshine.
On the role of chardonnay
Chardonnay fared particularly well for Cristal in 2013 and has played a key role, lending elegance and approachability to its semblance, making for a drinkable experience even on release.
“Chardonnay was special in 2013 and flowered late in June,” says Lécaillon, referring to some of the complications of the season. “Bunch weight, which is normally around 120g, went down to 90g. But it comes through in the wine because it’s packed full of concentration and makes it much more approachable and generous. There was also huge amounts of freshness from very low PH, just 2.98. That’s from biodynamics. PH was going down and ripeness was going up, meaning more aromatic sweetness, complexity and freshness.”
On the influence of oak
In the cellar, oak management is something that Lécaillon admits to discovering more about as the profile of grapes change with increased ripeness, but also freshness from biodynamics. Even in a hot year, like 2018, he says there is a call for oak, and a minimum of 28 percent is now the mandate for every bottle of Cristal.
It’s about re-designing winemaking, he says, around farming techniques that require more oak.
“When you say that 2013 is fresh but approachable, I think it’s from oak fermentation kept on total lees for four to six months. It gives vanilla complexity, dried fruit and sweetness. That’s why it works so well with ripe fruit, which normally shows sweetness on the mid-palate. Barrel extends the sweetness to the very end.”
What to expect from Cristal 2013
Firstly, Lécaillon cautions against making comparisons with its immediate predecessor, 2012.
“We shouldn’t compare to 2012 which was more like 2002 - rich and winey. It’s best to consider alongside 2008. It’s a very chalky, delicate and powerful wine.”
Cristal 2013 adheres to its typical blend of 60% pinot noir / 40% chardonnay sourced from 45 lieux-dits. Malolactic fermentation was blocked, 32% of wine was fermented in cask, and a low dosage of 8g/L has been used. Bottles were aged for a little over six years on lees.
The nose is pronounced with a delicate seaspray freshness, sweetness from yellow stone fruits, citrus peel and just a hint of spice.
On the palate, the attack is classically Cristal, gentle and graceful, building quietly with mid-palate intensity and chalky-mineral tension.
Its delicacy is heightened by its bead, one of the finest and seamlessly integrated that I’ve experienced - a caress - as Lécaillon calls it. Malic acid, he says, acts as a ‘bubble matcher’ and changes the feeling of the bead from carbon dioxide to ‘bubbles of salt that carry a full-stream of flavour’.
There is a lovely sense of ripe, juicy fruit in this vintage that makes it particularly pleasing, but also freshness and energy.
It finishes very long and saline, leaving behind an impression of chalk and a little sweetness.
A beautifully refined and beguiling champagne; a beacon for the merits of this vintage, from which great things will come.
Photography supplied by Louis Roederer
