The champagne created for a Tsar, in its unmistakable clear crystal bottle.
Cristal was created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia, who asked for a clear, flat-bottomed bottle. It remains Louis Roederer's prestige cuvée — a vintage blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the house's finest grand cru plots, precise, mineral and built to age gracefully.
Citrus and white flowers over brioche and a chalky minerality.
Precise and creamy, with saline minerality and ripe orchard fruit.
Long, taut and mineral, with great persistence.
Cristal was made for a Russian court, and this is what that court ate with it. The saline weight of caviar against Cristal's chalky, taut minerality is the oldest luxury pairing there is — and still the best argument for opening both at once.