Cristal and Sushi with Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon

Last night Cinnamon and I were treated to a once in a lifetime evening of sushi and Champagne with Jean Baptiste Lécaillon, the chef de cave of Champagne Louis Roederer. He invited us to Sushi Hashiri for a special meal paired with Roederer, including five vintages of Cristal, by chef Toshiaki and my long-time friend Yuri Shima. The wines, the food, and the pairings were unforgettable.

Incredibly, one of the true standouts was the current release 2016 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne, a feat given the context—we also had 2008, 2002,1990 from magnum and 2014 Rosé, a roll call of greats that I doubt I will ever have together again. The cuttlefish, sea bream, kohada, toro, golden eye snapper, striped jack, maguro, and scallop sushi were a marriage made in heaven with the wines. I am still reeling from the experience.

The 1990 Louis Roederer Cristal, served from magnum, was a gift from Mark, one of the other guests at the dinner. It was full golden at 35 years old, and loaded with nutty, warm bread aromas and even some butterscotch. In the mouth it was full bodied, with a silky bead but also great back-end refreshment and an expansive finish. It still had plenty of snap for the fish, and will no doubt continue to age well for decades.

The 2002 Cristal was a Vinothèque release, or as Jean-Baptiste calls it, his “laboratory of time.” These wines are riddled along with the last disgorgement run of the normal release but then left standing up “sur pointe” without being disgorged for longer aging, to allow more complexity to develop but without losing the freshness. This showed Panettone-like dried fruit and rich bread aromas but was still very focused in the mouth. The back end was precise and chalky and went on and on.

As for the 2008 Cristal, it still stands as one of the greatest wines of the greatest vintage of my career. Just starting to open after 17 years, it still has white flowers and clean white fruit backed by baguette toast and subtle nuttiness aromatically, and incredible verve, brilliance, and concentration in the mouth. The finish is nearly endless, a true peacock’s tail display of chalk, mouthwatering acidity and layers of complexity.

The 2014 Cristal Rosé was exceptional as well—I love the style of the cool, even 2014 vintage, and it is particularly well suited for what Jean-Baptiste calls the “Musigny” of Champagne. Cristal Rosé is sourced from special sites, and only in the Grand Cru villages of Aÿ, Avize, and Mesnil. It had a great smoky complexity, Maraschino-like black fruit, and a toasty pain au levin frame. It was an absolute knockout with the toro; the richness of the fish revealed the beautiful, fresh acidity of the wine and brought the long, chalky back end into even better focus.

It was amazing to me that the 2016 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne, just released three months ago, showed so well in this context of great vintages. I was very impressed with it when I recorded my short video on it then, and more so when I had it at home and wrote it up for the blog shortly after, but having it next to the 1990, 2002, and 2008 showed just how great this 2016 really is. Jean-Baptiste says that 2016 is the first vintage where the changes in viticulture that he has implemented over the last decades have really paid off. According to him, the biodynamic practices in the vineyard are now showing in the verticality of the wine. It sure did seem to be the case—not only was this wine completely entrancing aromatically, with deep hazelnut bread aromas from Roederer’s signature Cristal vineyards in Verzenay and Verzy, it was also incredibly elegant in the mouth, with a tremendous hidden concentration and complexity. The back end seemed like Blanc de Blancs—deceptively light, profoundly chalky… He has found a way to balance elements that seem mutually exclusive and given us a wine that is super easy to drink, but also incredibly deep if you spend the time tasting it carefully. The finish had fireworks, length, and intrigue. I can’t wait to have it again young, and as many times as I can aged!

Thank you JBL! That was truly unforgettable!

A toast to you,

- Gary Westby, K&L Champagne Buyer