Read more :
The year 2002: 2002 was a chaotic, trying and generally rainy year. Stormy episodes followed one another relentlessly, sometimes accompanied by devastating hail, notably on 2 July in the Montagne de Reims. The summer, particularly oceanic, gave birth to classic, supple, greedy, refined and precise wines. Moderately powerful, they are particularly seductive and signed by the great success of the Chardonnays. About Cristal Vinothèque: In the light of a Nature that each year renews the challenge, Cristal Vinothèque is the joint work of eternal Champagne time and a tailor-made maturation. An initial phase of eight to twelve years of rest on the lees is necessary to give the champagne all its structure and rich aromas. The lees give the wine its caressing texture and depth. After riddling, the wine is left to rest on the lees for five to ten years. This is a fundamental time to slow down its ageing, prolonging its maturation while preserving its original freshness which forms the essence of Cristal Vinothèque. Finally, after disgorging, a third and last phase begins, lasting two to six years, which is still necessary for the bubbles to become one with the wine. In the heart of Louis Roederer’s cellars, under the rock, where the water table flows just above, a silent and secret process is set in motion. Total darkness and a temperature of 11 degrees provide the perfect conditions for the champagne to blossom and flourish. Thus kept, the wines preserve the purity, the fruitiness and the surprising spontaneity that make the quintessence of Cristal, of which they offer a renewed perception, more complex, more sophisticated and even more moving.