A Cristal with twenty years behind it, in magnum. The 2005 was never the muscular vintage — it is the elegant, airy one, and that is exactly what two decades have rewarded.
Cristal is made only from Louis Roederer's own grand cru vineyards, and only in years the house declares. 2005 was one of the hard ones. The growing season was short and the harvest difficult, with rot pressure in the Pinot Noir, so Roederer leaned harder on Chardonnay than it usually would: the blend came out at 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay, with around a fifth of the Chardonnay matured in oak.
What that produced is not the dense, powerful Cristal of a great year. It is a lighter-framed, more supple wine — elegant and airy, with the house's chalky signature intact and an unusually silky texture. Critics who wanted muscle marked it down; those who took it on its own terms found a great deal to like. Two decades on, the early softness reads as maturity rather than dilution, and in magnum it has aged more slowly still.
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A magnum holds 1.5 litres — two bottles — but it is not simply twice as much wine. The same amount of air sits under the cork as in a standard bottle, spread across twice the volume, so the wine develops more slowly and the mousse stays finer for longer. On a twenty-year-old champagne that difference is not academic: a magnum of 2005 is a markedly fresher wine today than a 75cl of the same vintage.
Equal to two 75cl bottles.
A table of six, generously.
Less air per unit of wine.
Where the format really tells.
Mature champagne needs warmth to open.
A flute wastes twenty years of aroma.
Older corks are fragile. No theatrics.
Or aged Comté, or caviar.
| Wine | Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2005 |
| Format | Magnum, 1.5 litres |
| Region | Champagne, France |
| Blend | 55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay |
| ABV | 12% |
| Vineyards | 100% Grand Cru, Roederer-owned |
| Oak | Around 20% of the Chardonnay |
| Style | Mature, elegant, silky rather than powerful |
| Presentation | Supplied in the Louis Roederer gift box |
1.5 litres, exactly two standard 75cl bottles, or roughly twelve flutes.
It is a lighter one, and the house is open about why: a short, difficult season with rot pressure in the Pinot Noir meant more Chardonnay in the blend. The result is elegant and silky rather than powerful. Scores ranged from 93 to 97 depending on what each critic wanted from it.
Yes. At twenty years old this is a mature champagne and it is drinking now. The magnum format means it is fresher than a 75cl of the same vintage would be.
The space under the cork is the same as in a standard bottle, but the wine beneath it is twice the volume. Less air per unit of wine means slower development and a finer mousse for longer.
Chill it properly, keep a thumb on the cork and turn the bottle rather than the cork. Older corks can be brittle, so take it slowly and let it sigh rather than pop.
Yes. It is supplied in the gold Louis Roederer presentation box shown. Additional gift packaging and a handwritten message can be added at checkout.
