Cristal Champagne From Louis Roederer: 10 Exotic Bottles to Buy (2024)

The spectacular Cristal Champagne from Louis Roederer is a favorite among wine enthusiasts, critics, and pop stars alike. 

The secret behind its steep price tag lies in its illustrious heritage, the quality of grapes, masterful winemaking, and more!

What makes Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne so sought-after?

Which vintages should you get hold of?

Let’s explore all this, including the wine styles, and their investment potential. You’ll also discover a smart way to invest in Cristal Champagne through Vinovest.

A Quick Intro to Louis Roederer and Cristal Champagne

Champagne Louis Roederer was founded in 1776 in the Champagne region of France under the name Dubois Perre & Fils. The estate was renamed in 1833 when Louis Roederer inherited it from his uncle. 

It’s the largest family-owned Champagne house in the world today.

Why is Cristal Champagne so special?

Cristal is the flagship cuvée of the renowned Louis Roederer Champagne House. It’s also among the most age-worthy Champagnes in the world.

It’s typically a blend of 40% Chardonnay and 60% Pinot Noir grapes.  

Cristal is always a vintage Champagne and is produced only in the best vintages. In the 2010s, only the 2006, 2007, and 2009 vintages were released. 

Let’s take a look at the different types of Cristal Champagne.

Cristal Champagne Wine Styles

The Louis Roederer Champagne House produces these gorgeous wines:

• Cristal: The first Cuvee de Prestige (Prestige Cuvée) of Champagne, created by Roederer in 1876 for the Russian Tsar Alexander II. This Prestige Cuvee is made with 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay grapes. 
• Cristal Rose: Cristal Rose is a 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay blend aged for six years in the cellars.
• Cristal Vinotheque: Cristal Vinothèque bottles are aged “sur lattes” (stacked horizontally) for around 10 years, and are aged a further 10 years after dosage.
• Cristal Rose Vinotheque: Cristal Rose Vinotheque is made from 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay grapes. It’s aged for 20 years — 10 years on the lees and 10 years after disgorgement.

So, which bottles are worth your attention?

10 Best Cristal Champagnes to Buy in 2024 (Tasting Notes & Prices)

The most irresistible Cristal Champagne bottles to add to your collection are:

1. 2012 Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut
2. 2005 Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut
3. 2008 Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut
4. 2012 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Rose Millesime
5. 1996 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Rose Millesime
6. 1995 Louis Roederer Cristal Vinotheque Edition Brut Millesime
7. 1996 Louis Roederer Cristal Vinotheque Edition Brut Millesime
8. 1995 Louis Roederer Cristal Vinotheque Edition Brut Rose Millesime
9. 1996 Louis Roederer Cristal Vinotheque Edition Brut Rose Millesime
10. 2002 Louis Roederer Cristal 'Gold Medalion' Orfevres Limited Edition Brut Millesime

1. 2012 Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut ($343)

This vintage wine received a gold award at the “2021 The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships” competition.

It has chalky freshness and light tropical notes with crystalline finesse. This fine treat also boasts rich white flower aromas with lemon zest and subtle smoky notes.

2. 2005 Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut ($358)

This vivid Champagne was produced during an extraordinary vintage. It’s made from 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay grapes.

It’s a rich and complex wine boasting an apple flavor with vanilla, pear, white flower, and citrus notes. It also has an additional racy character that displays powerful mineral quality.

3. 2008 Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut ($502)

This wine received gold awards at the 2021 and 2022 The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships.

It has fresh fruit flavors and the aromas of ripe fruit, chalk, and brioche.

4. 2012 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Rose Millesime ($655)

This bubbly Champagne was awarded gold at the “2022 The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships” competition.

It’s dry and full-bodied with a white cherry flavor and notes of mandarin orange fruit and fresh pastry. The palate displays extraordinary elegance, a mouth-filling texture, and powerful mineral quality.

5. 1996 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Rose Millesime ($1,213)

This vivid Champagne received an amazing 100 points from James Suckling and 98 points from Robert Parker.

It shines with complex aromas of roasted toast, mandarin orange fruit, fine bread, ripe black cherry, apple, and light tropical notes.

6. 1995 Louis Roederer Cristal Vinotheque Edition Brut Millesime ($2,244)

This drink received 98 points from both James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast, and was awarded 96 points by the Wine Advocate.

It’s known for its aromatic precision and intense flavors. While the nose has subtle lemon zest notes, the palate has rich hints of oak and cardamom spice.

7. 1996 Louis Roederer Cristal Vinotheque Edition Brut Millesime ($2,079) 

Here’s an exceptional drink that received a whopping 100 points from Wine Enthusiast and 96 points from Robert Parker.

The wine is a perfect balance of fruity aromas of ripe pear, apple fruit, apricot, lemon, roasted hazelnut, and citrus fruit scents.

8. 1995 Louis Roederer Cristal Vinotheque Edition Brut Rose Millesime ($2,225)

This elegant Champagne received 97 points from Robert Parker and Wine Enthusiast.

It’s marked by sleek acidity and a ripe fruit aroma. The palate is structured and boasts ripe black cherry flavors, refreshing purity, and a smooth finish.

9. 1996 Louis Roederer Cristal Vinotheque Edition Brut Rose Millesime ($2,561) 

Robert Parker gave this fine wine 98 points, and Wine Enthusiast awarded it 97 points.

This exotic beauty is a perfect balance of complex fruity aromas with hazelnut, cocoa beans, and subtle lemon notes. It also boasts remarkable elegance and has a silky texture, raw almond flavors, and a velvety finish.

10. 2002 Louis Roederer Cristal 'Gold Medalion' Orfevres Limited Edition Brut Millesime ($4,736)

This prestige Champagne comes in a beautifully-designed, luxurious, limited edition bottle. The distinctive clear glass bottle is encased in a lattice of 24-carat gold — a divine collector’s item.

Interestingly, the 2002 Cristal Champagne vintage scored a perfect 100 points in the Wine & Spirits magazine in 2009.

The wine offers raw almond and cardamom spice flavors and delicate roasted hazelnut notes. This Champagne also shines with a silky texture and an additional racy character with refreshing purity.

Why Is Cristal Champagne So Expensive & Is It Investment-Worthy?

Like most investment wines, Cristal Champagne is considered a Veblen good. This means its demand increases with price because of its exclusivity and “status symbol” appeal. 

The secret behind this luxury wine is high-quality craftsmanship and juicy hand-harvested grape varieties (sourced from Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards).

Besides, the Cristal sparkling wine can age in the bottle for at least 20 years without losing its character and freshness. 

Now, if you plan on getting a bottle of this Champagne, expect a price tag of above $200. 

On average, Cristal wines have appreciated around 40% in the 2010s, and the upward trend continues. For example:

• The price of the 1988 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Rose Millesime appreciated by 45% when it rose from $1,105 in June 2021 to $1,605 in December 2022. 
• The price of the 1996 Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut increased from $603 in May 2021 to $943 in March 2023 — a 56% increase.

Fun fact: A Cristal bottle is wrapped in gold foil that protects the age-worthy white wine from UV damage — helping it last longer. This signature style of the Champagne brand adds an extra flair and makes it expensive.

But then: 

How Do You Invest in an Exquisite Cristal Champagne?

The easiest way to add an authentic Cristal wine bottle to your collection is with the help of a reliable wine investment company like Vinovest. This could be your one-stop shop for investing, storing, and selling the world’s finest wine bottles — like Chenin Blanc, proprietary red wines, and more!

What are the benefits?

Vinovest stores your wines in climate-controlled bonded warehouses, and you don’t have to pay any VAT or excise duty for this. It charges a 2.5% annual fee (1.9% for portfolios of $50,000+), which covers storage, insurance, portfolio management, and fraud detection.

But that’s not all — check out all the other benefits on theVinovest website. From there, simplysign up and start building a profitable wine investment portfolio!

Now, back to Cristal Champagne! Let’s explore the secret behind its delicious flavors.

Cristal Champagne: Prestigious Vineyards and Meticulous Winemaking

This exquisite sparkling wine is made from grapes of the oldest vines (25 to 60 years old). The fruit is grown in the 240-acre Louis Roederer vineyard under the supervision of the cellar master, Jean Baptiste Lécaillon.

The vines are situated on the best terroirs of the Champagne region. They’re in the Grand Crus and Premiers Crus of the Cote des Blanc, Montagne de Reims, and the Vallée de la Marne.  

The vine plants in the Grand Cru property are older, low-yielding, and produce concentrated fruit.

The vineyards’ chalky soil gives the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes an exquisite minerality. This lends a crystalline, sleek acidity to the Louis Roederer gorgeous wines.

The winery uses biodynamic farming techniques — using natural and organic products to produce exceptional fruit.

Some of the farming and winemaking techniques are:

• The soil is tilled using traditional methods like plowing by horses. 
• Each block of grapes is fermented separately. The winemaker decides on the final blend after fermentation.
• The Rose Cristal is made using more Pinot Noir. It gets its coloring from red wine rather than Pinot Noir grape skins (through a method called “saignée”).

The annual production of Cristal Champagne is 300,000 to 400,000 bottles.

Cristal’s colorful history is worth a flashback. So, here we go:

The History Behind Cristal Champagne

Champagne saw a boost in popularity among the Russian nobility in the 1850s.

In 1867, Louis Roederer’s handcrafted Cristal was served as a custom-made, 20-year-old wine at a grand dinner in Paris. The Tsar Alexander II of Russia was one of the people at the dinner.

The drink was made using grapes from the revered 1847 vintage. It was served in clear leaded, flat-bottomed crystal glass bottles to show off its beautiful golden hue.

Tsar Alexander II loved it and chose it as his palace wine. By 1876, the Champagne went into full production to satisfy the Tsar’s demands. 

Due to political instability, Tsar Alexander II feared assassination and ordered Louis Roederer Champagne to be thoroughly examined. He also wanted it to be presented in clear crystal decanter to ensure no explosives were hidden beneath.

For this, Champagne Louis Roederer commissioned a Dutch glassmaker to create a clear lead-glass crystal bottle with a flat bottom. This officially gave birth to the Cristal Champagne, which was made commercially available in 1945. 

By the early 2000s, the Champagne brand became famous among several pop artists. 

However, things turned sour, and then Frédéric Rouzard (managing director of Louis Roederer) stated in an interview, “We can't forbid people (hip-hop artists) from buying it. I'm sure Dom Pérignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.”

Rapper Jay-Z even dropped it from his list at the 40/40 Club in New York and vowed never to drink it again. (Fun fact: Jay-Z bought the Champagne Armand de Brignac in 2017.)

Despite this, Roederer’s Champagne continued to grow in popularity worldwide.

Other Champagnes Made By Louis Roederer

The Louis Roederer Champagne House produces these vintage and multi-vintage wines:

Cuvee Vintages

• Brut Vintage: The Louis Roederer Brut Vintage is made from 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay grapes. It’s matured on the lees for four years and for about six months after disgorging.
• Rose Vintage: The Rose Vintage is made from 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay. This wine is matured on lees for four years and left for at least six months after disgorgement.
• Blancs de Blancs Vintage: The grapes for this Chardonnay wine are sourced from the Mesnil-sur-Oger and Avize Grand Crus. The region’s calcareous soils ensure that the grapes mature well.

Multi vintages

Multi-vintage Louis Roederer wines were created after over half of the Roederer estate was destroyed in the early 1990s. During this time, Roederer decided to buy grapes to ensure the continuity of the Champagne house.

Time to Invest in a Coveted Cristal Champagne!

Cristal Champagne is one worth your cellar — whether it’s for a celebratory splurge or for long-term investment purposes.

You may get your hands on one through a boutique wine store, an online platform, or an auction. But you’ll never know if you’re holding an authentic Champagne bottle or if you bought it at the best price! 

Your smartest option is to buy, store, and sell your Cristal Champagne, Dom Pérignon, Chenin Blanc, proprietary red wines, and other bottles through Vinovest. 

You can invest in bottles from Italy, South Australia, South Eastern Australia, France’s Rhone Valley, the Champagne region, and worldwide.

So, why not sign up now and get your wine portfolio built right away?