Reviews & Scores
Showing its age well, this wine offers a mature toastiness balanced by rich red fruit. The acidity is well integrated, making this impressive wine ready to drink now.
WE96December 2018
As hard as it may seem to believe, the 2002 Cristal Rosé (Re-Release) is even better than the Blanc. Utterly explosive in the glass, with soaring aromatics and tremendous palate presence, the 2002 dazzles from the very first taste. With time in the glass the 2002 grows effortlessly, showing myriad shades of nuance with each successive taste. I am reminded of the vertical I did of Cristal Rosé here a few years ago. Yes, the Rosé is expensive and rare. But it also delivers the goods. And then some.
VM98July 2018
The 2002 Cristal Rosé has always been suspected to become a legend one day. Now, nine years later, the onion-colored wine has arrived in the Olympus of the finest Champagnes. Clear, matured and vinous on the intense and complex yet very delicate nose, this is a lush, succulent, perfectly round and intense 2002 that equilibrates its generosity and texture with great elegance and spellbinding balance. Stunningly, this seamless, charmingly seductive and voluptuous character is combined with great purity and harmony, especially in the finish that is not just round and caressing but also fresh, piquant and stimulatingly salty. Is there anything more we could expect from a Rosé Champagne? Even if you served me the wine in a black glass, it would still be a gorgeous, beautiful wine. Yes, it's wine rather than anything else, and its bubbly vinosity makes me desperate for more. If I just could, I would marry the 2002 Cristal Rosé straightaway. The cuvée reflects a great continental vintage as well as the stupendous terroirs of Aÿ (Pinot Noir: 60%), Avize and Mesnil (Chardonnay: 40%). The bottle I tasted at Roederer in Reims in May 2018 was disgorged in 2011, so, like the 2008, after eight years on the second lees.
WA100June 2018
Medium pink with a light copper hue. Strawberry, cherry skin and blood orange on the nose, with notes of brown butter and dried flowers adding complexity. Lush and creamy but not heavy, offering open-knit red berry and sappy citrus flavors and a deeper, buttery quality on the back end. Hangs on with attractive spiciness, a hint of candied orange and impressive, gently sweet persistence. I'd err on the side of youth with this alluring Champagne and drink it over the coming decade rather than bury it in the cellar.
ST93November 2009
This is very fruity, boasting apple, cherry and berry flavors, making it open and approachable. There's concentration as well, with a vibrant structure and a berry aftertaste. Drink now through 2019
WS90November 2009