Winemaker Notes
Light, delicate soft pink hue. Bright, vibrant, ultra-fine bubbles. Refined bouquet of freshly-picked tart red fruit (wild strawberry, raspberry) and lemon scented flower petals. The pure, precise fragrances delicately intertwine and are gradually joined by overtones of fresh almonds, bread and spices (cocoa bean). These nuanced, intricately interwoven fragrances are ethereal and transcendent. Intense, velvety and captivating on the palate. What else would you expect after such perfume? The juicy, concentrated red fruit gradually pulls towards a raspberry liqueur character complemented by invigorating, sweet citrus aromas. The harmony and delicacy of the wine is reinforced by the creamy bubbles which create a sensation of roundness and concentration. The mineral freshness lengthens the palate; it becomes vertical, chalky, saline and sapid with a sensation of perpetual acceleration created by the pure, bright limestone.
Blend: 55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Cristal Rosé from Louis Roederer is one of the most complete wines to be found in Champagne in this vintage, so utterly pure and precise that I would run the risk of exhausting superlatives trying to express its clarity. Displaying a pale hue, it soars from the glass with a bouquet of kaleidoscopic complexity, featuring notes of tangerine zest, raspberry and rose petals mingling with peeled almonds and spices. Enjoyed from magnum, disgorged in February 2024, the wine’s persistent palate offers a bright, vibrant core of fruit, refined mousse and fine-boned structure, with racy and fresh acidity and a long, chalky finish. “With 2013, I was confident from day one, which was not the case with 2008,” recalls Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, and the result in the glass precludes any argument about it—the 2013 Cristal Rosé is a wine that’s structurally complete, deep and multifaceted, even more spectacular than the white 2013 Cristal.
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James Suckling
Magnums of Cristal are always released a few years after the original wine in bottle. This is subtle yet complex, with cranberry and apple aromas and flavors, as well as plenty of minerals and subtle bread-dough and gun-metal undertones. Medium body with hints of strawberry and flint. Like biting into a perfect strawberry.
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Jeb Dunnuck
If you're a Champagne lover and this doesn't do it for you, I don't know what will. A magical Champagne that's just about as good as it gets, the 2013 Cristal Rosé reveal a lighter salmon hue to go with a rich yet also subtle nose of orange blossom, white flowers, toasted brioche, and chalky minerality. It takes some coaxing but is incredibly complex aromatically and offers more spice, dried strawberry, and library book-like nuances as it sets in the glass. Richly textured on the palate, it's medium to full-bodied and has surprising opulence as well as a great mid-palate, all of which are balanced by a vibrant spine of acidity. It starts out seemingly soft and easygoing yet changes with air, and it possesses an incredible mix of suppleness, texture, and precision that is something to behold. It can be drunk today or cellared for 20 or 30 years, possibly even longer.
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Wine & Spirits
Cristal Rosé appears to be an effortless wine, a pleasure point somewhere between masculine strength and feminine beauty. The delicate rose color and lasting red fruit describe ripe peach, the scent of bee pollen, savory herbs and smoke, but what astonishes about this wine is the kind of power that pheromones have, well past the edges of perception. A blend of Aÿ pinot noir and Avize chardonnay, all mid-slope parcels, all on chalk soils, this is glorious wine to enjoy now, while it holds the inner tension and bold compression of flavors to develop for decades.
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Wine Spectator
Like an orchestra that melds the voices of many components into one compelling song, this bright rosé offers precision balance, seamlessly knitting an expressive range of ripe nectarine and raspberry fruit, Marcona almond, blood orange peel and candied ginger flavors with racy acidity and saline-laced minerality. Plush and creamy on the lasting finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Uncompromising Quality
Champagne Louis Roederer was founded in 1776 in Reims, France and is one of the rare family owned companies, which is still managed by the Roederer family. In 1833, Louis Roederer inherited the company from his uncle and renamed the company under his namesake. Under his leadership, the company rapidly grew while remaining true to their philosophy of uncompromising quality. Today, the company is under the helm of Jean-Claude Rouzaud and his son Frédéric who continue to place quality before quantity.
First-Rate Vineyards
Champagne Louis Roederer is one of the only French champagne producers to own nearly 75 percent of the grapes in the most desirable vineyards in the Champagne. The property is located on 450 acres in the finest villages of Montagne de Reims, Côtes des Blancs, and Valleé de la Marne. Each region is selected to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with the elegance needed for perfectly balanced champagne. The Louis Roederer vineyards rate an average 98 percent based on France’s statutory 100-point classification scale.
The reserve wine is then tasted and graded by a team of Roederer specialists. They choose as many as 40 different wines from several lots for the blend. For the final touch, the wine is then added in order to enhance the cuvee and guarantee consistency while retaining the champagne's characteristics.
What are the different types of sparkling rosé wine?
Rosé sparkling wines like Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, and others make a fun and festive alternative to regular bubbles—but don’t snub these as not as important as their clear counterparts. Rosé Champagnes (i.e., those coming from the Champagne region of France) are made in the same basic way as regular Champagne, from the same grapes and the same region. Most other regions where sparkling wine is produced, and where red grape varieties also grow, also make a rosé version.
How is sparkling rosé wine made?
There are two main methods to make rosé sparkling wine. Typically, either white wine is blended with red wine to make a rosé base wine, or only red grapes are used but spend a short period of time on their skins (maceration) to make rosé colored juice before pressing and fermentation. In either case the base wine goes through a second fermentation (the one that makes the bubbles) through any of the various sparkling wine making methods.
What gives rosé Champagne and sparkling wine their color and bubbles?
The bubbles in sparkling wine are formed when the base wine undergoes a secondary fermentation, which traps carbon dioxide inside the bottle or fermentation vessel. During this stage, the yeast cells can absorb some of the wine’s color but for the most part, the pink hue remains.
How do you serve rosé sparkling wine?
Treat rosé sparkling wine as you would treat any Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, and other sparkling wine of comparable quality. For storing in any long-term sense, these should be kept at cellar temperature, about 55F. For serving, cool to about 40F to 50F. As for drinking, the best glasses have a stem and a flute or tulip shape to allow the bead (bubbles) and beautiful rosé hue to show.
How long do rosé Champagne and sparkling wine last?
Most rosé versions of Prosecco, Champagne, Cava or others around the “$20 and under” price point are intended for early consumption. Those made using the traditional method with extended cellar time before release (e.g., Champagne or Crémant) can typically improve with age. If you are unsure, definitely consult our Customer Care team for guidance.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’