WA  97    WS  93    WE  97 

Rated: 97 pts - The Wine Advocate
Rated: 93 pts - Wine Spectator
Rated: 97 pts - Wine Enthusiast

Wine Color: White
Vintage: 2004
Varietal: Blend
Style: Sparkling
Size: 750ml
Origin: Europe > France > Champagne > Champagne

Food Pairing: Sea Food, Summer Salads
Taste: Rounded, Soft

The Wine Advocate 97 pts - Antonio Galloni
The 2004 Brut Cristal has put on quite a bit of weight since I first tasted it earlier this year. It is a powerful, structured Cristal layered with considerable fruit. Chardonnay seems to play the leading role in 2004, at least today. Cristal is often accessible young, but that is far from the case here. This is a serious, painfully young Cristal that will require considerable patience. Readers who are willing to spend some time with the wine today will find a super-impressive, complete Cristal. The 2004 Cristal is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. This is Lot L033331E100008, disgorged January, 2010. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2034.

Wine Spectator 93 pts - Bruce Sanderson
Floral, citrus and spice aromas and flavors are at the forefront of this filigree, delicate Champagne, which is harmonious and well-defined, with a long aftertaste of roasted nut and toast. Very dry. Drink now through 2028.

Wine Enthusiast 97 pts - Roger Voss
Exceptionally rich and dense, an exceptional wine that reveals itself in layers, from the first fruit attack to the mineral texture and the way it gradually fills the mouth. Selected from old vines, there is a great flavor in this wine, with the promise of many years' aging.

Description:
Brilliant yellow with light amber highlights. A beautiful mousse with fine cordon of persistent and regular bubbles. Intense and delicate. Revealing a clean and well-blended mixture of flavours of honey, cocoa, lightly toasted hazelnuts, candied citrus fruit? without exuberance, but luxurious simplicity! A savoury explosion of ripe fruit on the attack, revealing red fruit, white chocolate, caramel and Danish pastry, typical of Cristal. Silky, concentrated texture, leaning on intense, powerful and vinous structure, but maintaining refinement. The palate builds up to attain a delicious sensation of well-blended harmony of flavours. A fresh finish with a hint of bitterness making it almost crunchy.

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