Louis Roederer Cristal 2018

Marking Cristal’s 150th anniversary, the 2018 vintage reaffirms its signature expression and identity, seamlessly merging chalky minerality and with great depth of flavours and aromatic complexity. The 2018 radiates remarkable freshness despite a very sunny vintage. It is quintessentially Cristal.

98+/100 - The 2018 Cristal opens a new chapter for Roederer. The Cristal estate is composed of 45 parcels. In better vintages, most of the 45 parcels are used for the blend. The 2018 vintage brought with it elevated ripeness and generally low acids. Longtime Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon was forced to cast his gaze wider, to look for parcels that offered a touch of freshness. Lécaillon expanded his palette to 57 parcels. The result is a Cristal unlike any other I have tasted. Orchard fruit, dried flowers, spice, chalk and herbs are some of the many notes that take shape in the glass. Floral and savory overtones are quite distinctive. Lécaillon reduced oak ferments, racked very quickly after fermentation and used all his best Chardonnay lots for Cristal, so much so that there is no Blanc de Blancs. He bottled earlier than normal and chose a crown capsule with a liner that allows less oxygen transfer than the norm here. Taken together, those choices paid off handsomely. In tasting, the 2018 is positively stunning. Its linear energy and brilliance are a bit reminiscent of the 2014, but its flavor profile is completely different from any Cristal I can remember tasting. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

96/100 - Whereas the 2016 vintage was rather tightly knit and incisive, the 2018 Cristal is more enveloping and charming. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of ripe citrus, white peach and warm bread mingled with hints of pear, it is medium- to full-bodied, ample and textural, with a layered, nicely concentrated core of fruit underpinned by ripe yet vibrant acidity and enlivened by a pinpoint mousse. Much like the 2004, it may gain considerably from additional time post-disgorgement, even if it is already approachable. Sourced from 57 plots selected with an emphasis on freshness, it was disgorged in January 2026. - Kristaps Karklins, Wine Advocate

19/20 - Wonderfully aromatic and lifted. Citrus and energetic. Lots of exuberant fruit but overall brisk and superbly refreshing. - Jancis Robinson MW