Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2016

Cristal 2016 feels like stepping into a mirrored ballroom at golden hour, where everything gleams and nothing tries too hard. It is brightness with backbone.

The detail behind that is worth knowing, because Cristal is one of the few prestige cuvées where the farming is the story. Roederer own the vineyards outright — forty-five parcels of grand cru land — and only thirty-two made the blend in 2016, all biodynamically farmed. It came out at 58% Pinot Noir to 42% Chardonnay. Around a third of the base wines were vinified in oak, malolactic conversion was blocked entirely to preserve the acidity, and the wine then spent six years in the cellars before disgorgement and a further eight months resting after it. Dosage is a restrained 7g/l.

Blocking the malo is what gives this its particular nerve. Orchard fruit sits over cool chalk — a bit like biting into a perfect pear while standing on a limestone cliff — and the wine opens gradually, in citrus zest, white flowers and a soft pastry glow from the long lees ageing. It is poised and polished, almost balletic, and still humming with that unmistakable Cristal energy. 2016 was a difficult growing season in Champagne, with frost and mildew before a hot, saving summer, which makes a wine of this precision more of an achievement than a smooth year would.

How to Serve

10-12°C — considerably warmer than most people serve Champagne, and non-negotiable for a wine of this age and depth. Use a white wine glass, never a flute. Open it thirty minutes before pouring, or decant it if you are brave. It will develop for another fifteen to twenty years.

Where to Drink It

Scott's in Mayfair, where it belongs. The Connaught Bar for a glass before dinner. J Sheekey with the shellfish.

Food Pairings

Turbot roasted on the bone, or a plate of langoustines with nothing but butter. Cristal has the weight to take white truffle over risotto too, if the season and the budget align. Keep the food simple; the wine is the event.