Roederer/Louis Brut Champagne Cristal 2013

99 points Anne Krebiehl, MW (Falstaff): "An immediate sense of creaminess comes with an unusually intense perfume of fruit. Despite all this time on lees, a very pure sense of ripe, juicy Mirabelle plum is evident. This segues effortlessly into a creamy chalkiness. The palate strikes with immediate presence and inherent balance. Concentration and freshness complete each other, are heightened by the finest, smoothest foam. There is luminosity, body, and a salty depth that draws you in. The sense of sleekness and elegance is extraordinary. While it will be hard to resist this deliciousness now, graceful ageing is guaranteed. (8/8/21)"

96-99 points Essi Avellan, MW: "The 2013 vintage was sculpted by its late season with grapes ending up harvested in October. But ripe they became with heaps of delicious cool and crunchy fruit. Cristal Blanc is so racy and pure with huge, salty mineral tanginess at the fore. But look beyond and get bedazzled by its fruity power. Lemon, lime, white currant and Granny Smith apple with chalky tones and gunpowder whiffs arising over time. Focused and saline on the mouthwateringly zingy palate. (Apr 2021)"

98 points Tyson Stelzer (The Champagne Guide): "(tasted in 2021 in Australia; 60% pinot noir, 40% chardonnay; 45 lieu-dits, one-third in the Vallée de la Marne, one-third Montagne de Reims, one-third Côte des Blancs; 32% vinified in oak; no malolactic fermentation; 8g/L dosage; cork). Cristal has defined the soaring trajectory of the rise and rise of Louis Roederer in recent decades and I cannot recall a back-to-back trilogy as enthralling as 2008, 2012 and now 2013. The only vintage in two decades harvested in October has brought with it a refined elegance like none vbefore. To achieve balance from definitive chalk soils in the presence of oak vinification and no malolactic fermentation is a grand undertaking in itself, but to create such harmony and seamless integration is an art of the highest order. It is as if fruit, age and texture are one inseparable, coherent whole. The full, expansive panoply of bright red fruits of pinot noir and white fruits of chardonnay is here, delicately placed within the ever so subtle beginnings of the brioche nuances of time. The modern voice of Cristal gives ancient chalk greater clarity and presence than ever, erupting from its core in a mouth-filling stance of pure salinity, stark and resolute, yet never confronting. 2013 represents a grand testimony to all that the modern Cristal stands for, and a monumental statement that the intricate detail of experimentation and refinement that has progressively transformed the Cristal vineyards and winemaking has ushered in a grand new era for this fabled house. (Edition VII; 2024)"

98 points William Kelley (Wine Advocate): "...Combining the cool-vintage cut of 2008 with the more completely mature fruit of 2012, the 2013 Cristal might well be said to represent the perfect combination of the two from a purist's perspective. The wine unwinds in the glass with notes of crisp orchard fruit, white flowers, almond paste and citrus oil, followed by a medium to full-bodied, seamless and multidimensional palate that's intense but weightless, with racy acids, a pinpoint mousse and a long, penetrating finish... Drink: 2025-2060. (Sep 2021)"

98 points James Suckling: "This is quite chalky with firm phenolics that frame the wine beautifully. It’s medium-to full-bodied with strawberries and earth. Dense, linear and intense. Hints of brioche and pie crust at the end. Very structured and gorgeous. Salty and lightly chewy. One third of the base wines fermented and aged in oak. Connoisseur Champagne. From organic vineyards of the Roederer domains. Smaller production than normal. Seven years on the lees. Give it two or three years to open. (6/22/21)"

97+ points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 2013 Cristal is a wine of extraordinary precision and tension. Searing acids drive a bold, racy Champagne that won’t be ready to offer its best drinking anytime soon. In recent vintages, Cristal has been quite open on release. That is far from the case with the 2013. Readers should plan on being quite patient. The blend is 60% Pinot Noir (from Aÿ, Verzy, Verzenay, Beaumont-sur-Vesle) and 40% Chardonnay (Mesnil, Avize, Cramant). Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon was especially selective and used only 30 out of the potential 45 plots that are typically available for Cristal. About 32% of the lots were done in oak, the rest in steel, with the malolactic fermentation blocked across the board. It was an October harvest, the sort of harvest that has become increasingly rare in Champagne. Lecaillon describes the summer as similar to 2012, but adds the vines were a month behind in their development. In tasting, the 2013 reminds me of the 1996 in its austerity, even more so than the epic 2008. Drink: 2028-2053. (Mar 2021)"

97 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The cépages this year is 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay, with one-third of the vins clairs barrel-fermented for this vintage. As always, none of the vins clairs went through malolactic fermentation and the wine was finished with a dosage of 8g/L. The wine delivers a beautiful young bouquet of apple, a hint of pear, yellow plum, a complex base of chalky minerality, brioche and a lovely array of fruit blossoms in the upper register. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with impeccable balance, a superb core, laser-like focus, very elegant mousse and a long, vibrant and very classy finish... This is a very beautiful vintage of Cristal and a very, very worthy follow-up to the stellar 2012 version! 2021-2075. (Mar/Apr 2021)"

96 points Jeb Dunnuck (4/30/21).

96 points Simon Field, MW (Decanter) (Apr 2021)

96 points Wine Spectator (8/25/21)