Parker-Kelly 98 Punkte: Disgorged in September 2017 with 7.5 grams per liter dosage, the 2008 Cristal was produced from 37 of the 45 parcels that are candidates for inclusion in this cuvée—some 40% of which were farmed organically back in 2008—and it's a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. The finest young Cristal in decades, the wine wafts from the glass with a pure and vibrant bouquet of crisp orchard fruit, clear honey, warm brioche, citrus zest and white flowers. On the palate, it's full-bodied, intense and incisive, with superb concentration, racy acids and a long, searingly chalky finish. Pristinely balanced, there are some 500,000 bottles of this legend-in-the-making.
James Suckling 100 Punkte: OMG. A masterpiece. A benchmark. Tight and structured, with fantastic precision and structure. Sharp line of acidity throughout, with fine and tight bubbles. Pineapple, lemon, white apricot, seashell, biscuit, blanched almond and a hint of chamomile. Vertical and mineral. Dosage 7g/L. Special release in magnum and aged two or three years longer on the lees than the normal bottling. I can’t go higher than this. Even better in a few years.
Galloni 99 Punkte: The 2008 Cristal is one of the most complete. most dazzling Champagnes I have ever tasted. A stunning weine from any and all perspectoves, the 2008 simply has it all. Spherical in construction, with superb persistence. The 2008 takes hold of all the senses and never gives up. One of the many things that makes the 2008 special is a combination of ripe fruit and bright, piercing acidity. Marzipan, lemon confit, dried flowers abd orchard fruit all build into the explosive, resonant finish. " We learned from the mistakes of 1996, when we picked more on acid than ripeness, as was the norm in Champagne back then", Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon told me recently. "In 1996, the best fruit turned out to be the last picks, where the fruit was physiologically ripe. Today, we aun to pick all our fruit with that criteria."
Dunnuck 100 Punkte: The 2008 Cristal is a perfect wine, and Champagne simple does not get any better. This incredible wine offers a beautiful perfume of clean, crisp fruits, layers of complexity in its toasted spice and white flowers, and an utterly seamless, yet powerful style on the palate. This is a rich, decadent expression of Cristal yet it’s still crystalline and elegant, with no sensation of weight, and it just glides over the palate. Haut Couture at its finest and this majestic, profound, legendary Cristal can be drunk anytime over the coming 2-3 decades.
Fallstaff 100 Punkte: Helles Grüngelb, Silberreflexe, feines, anhaltendes Mousseux. Frische weiße Pfirsichnote, helle Tropenfrucht, mineralisch, ungemein jugendlich und puristisch. Am Gaumen komplex, feine gelbe Tropenfruchtnuancen, ein Hauch von Pfirsich und Apfel, engmaschig, fester Körper sehr vitale, energische Säurestruktur, schwungvoll, zitronig unterlegter salziger Touch, verfügt über ein ungemein langes Finale, sicheres Reifepotenzial für viele Jahre, finessenreich wie nie zuvor.
