This is Louis Roederer Cristal 1990 in a 6-litre Methuselah, the Millennium Edition in its original wooden case. 1990 is a highly regarded Cristal vintage, and a bottle of this size is a rare sight.
About This Champagne
1990 was an unusual year in Champagne, when grapes came in with both high sugar and firm acidity. The wine was made by chef de cave Michel Pansu, with a young Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon working beside him. The blend is 62% Pinot Noir and 38% Chardonnay, and only a small share of the wine went through malolactic fermentation, to keep it fresh. Critics tasting it in recent years describe a mature Cristal that has kept its energy. Large formats age more slowly than standard bottles, so a Methuselah from this vintage should still show real freshness.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Baked pear and peach, candied citrus, almond and walnut, with brioche, honey and a faint note of truffle.
- Palate: Rich and silky, with ripe fruit held up by a clear line of acidity and a still-lively mousse.
- Finish: Toast and citrus oil, drawn out to a chalky close.
Serving & Food
A Methuselah needs most of a day in a cold room, or several hours in a large ice bath, to reach about 10°C, and pouring is a two-person job. White wine glasses give the mature aromas room. Drink it now, with caviar on blinis, butter-poached lobster or a whole steamed sea bass.
How to Enjoy
A wedding or a big anniversary dinner, where one bottle pours for the whole table.
Product Details
Producer: Louis Roederer
Cuvée: Cristal Millennium Edition
Vintage: 1990
Region: Champagne, France
Grape Variety / Blend: 62% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay
Format: 6L Methuselah, OWC
About the Maison
Louis Roederer traces its roots to a Reims wine business set up in 1776. Louis Roederer inherited the firm in 1833, gave it his name and began buying vineyards at a time when most houses simply bought grapes. That habit shaped everything since: the house now farms roughly 240 hectares across the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs, and it is still independent and family owned, run today by Frédéric Rouzaud.
Cristal was first made in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II, who asked for a flat-bottomed, clear bottle so nothing could be hidden beneath it. It went on general sale after the Second World War. It is made only in years the house thinks worthy, from its own grand cru vineyards, and each bottle is wrapped in gold cellophane to shield the clear glass from light.