Jeb Dunnuck

I had the opportunity to taste the 2015 Champagne Cristal twice, both at the house in Reims as well as at my home office. On both occasions, the wine offered a terrific balance of decadence and notable freshness for this vintage, which was highly expressive on opening. The release reveals layered custardy notes of lemon balm, incense, apricot, and hazelnut. Medium to full-bodied, the mousse is fluffy and rounded out beautifully through the palate. Round and approachable, it has a well-managed richness along with underlying savory sapidity and saline to keep this going over the coming three or more decades, with a chalky tannin structure to support it. Drink 2025-2050. This was only the second vintage where Mr. Lécaillon opted to source from all of the 45 plots dedicated to Cristal. (Since then, he chose to draw from even more plots for the 2018.)

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

If the 2014 vintage was especially open and demonstrative, the 2015 Cristal is going to require more patience. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, crisp stone fruits, white flowers, crushed mint and subtle hints of buttery pastry, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a deep, concentrated and rather introverted core of fruit framed by chalky extract and animated by a pretty pinpoint mousse. This is a serious, vinous Champagne that has considerable substance to age and may well evolve along the lines of the lovely 1985.

Champagne Club by Richard Juhlin

A continental vintage of power and maturity with concentrated Pinot Noir in the driver's seat. This time the balance looks as follows. 30% Verzenay, Verzy and Beaumont-sur-Vesle, 30% Aÿ, and only 40% Avize, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Cramant. This mighty Cristal has 25% barrel aging and is smartly completely free of malolactic fermentation and the dosage is kept down to 7g/liter because the maturation sweetness is so marked this time. We opened three bottles with fairly large bottle variation in terms of degree of maturity, so there is some uncertainty about the rate of development. Jean-Baptiste has of course managed to avoid the vintage's typical pitfalls without trying to push minerality and freshness to the extreme and thus risk losing the vintage profile. Instead, he follows the vintage's luscious ripeness and generous softness as he skilfully maneuvers past the pitfalls with a sure hand. The best bottle had a nice belemnite chalky mineral puff already in the aroma and a resilient energy right through. Nevertheless, I dare to say that the 2015 Cristal is one of the more crowd-pleasing and easy-drinking Cristals I encountered at launch. The ripe fruit offers a high concentration of pears, Granny Smith apples and mirabelle plums followed by grilled nuts, chestnuts, milk chocolate and almonds. The palate is juicy sweet and ripe with an underlying backbone of lively energy paired with candied fruits, honey and white chocolate. The aftertaste is broader and smoother than usual, but the richness of fruit is stylishly accompanied by Roederer's significant minerality. The storage potential is good, but the storage gain is significantly less than usual. By no means one of the bigger Cristal vintages, but certainly one of the vintage's greatest champagnes. So, despite the high price, you should definitely adorn your cellar with at least one bottle of the 2015 Cristal as well.

James Suckling

For the warm and dry vintage this has tremendous freshness and elegance. The complex nose of citrus blossom, mint, lemon and lime zest opens up slowly as this aerates in the glass. The wine’s ample structure is still quite firm, which is a vintage characteristic, the mousse very fine but also very lively for an eight-year-old champagne. Cristal fans will love this as it is, but a year or two more in the bottle will do a lot for the very long mineral finish of this youthful masterpiece. A cuvee of 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay, picked from all 45 Cristal vineyard plots. Tasted at the Cristal vertical tasting at the champagne house on July 6th, 2023. Drink from release.

Decanter Magazine

An open and inviting nose references cream, oatmeal and Amalfi lemon with the slightest edge of smoke. The palate immediately strikes with a mouthwatering lemon ripeness and a juicy, mouthfilling generosity reminiscent of yellow plum. It stays true to the trademark sleekness of Cristal and speaks of the concentration of 2015. Fine mousse accentuates the fullness and roundness of the wine while the long finish hints at chalky depth which, for now, is dominated by ripe stone fruit and more of that textured, rich notion of oatmeal. Definitely a Cristal to enjoy soon.

Wine Enthusiast

From vineyards that are run organically, this iconic Champagne's latest iteration is as beautiful as ever. Textured, with a mineral undertow, the wine is just beginning to soften and show a balanced maturity. Drink this great wine now.

Falstaff

Bacchus Magazine

Wine & Spirits Magazine

Wine Spectator

The Wine Independent