Louis Roederer

World's Best Champagne

Filed under: Wine

Luxist readers from around the world have nominated their favorite makers of champagne and sparkling wines. Here's the list of the top five that made the list of the world's best:

Cristal
For a champagne founded in the same year as the United States of America, Louis Roederer's Cristal has changed remarkably little over the years compared to the country across the pond.

Founded in 1776 as Dubois Pere & Fils, the company was renamed after the founder's nephew, Louis Roederer, who took over in 1833 and renamed the champagne house after himself. One of Roederer's greatest moves was expanding the brand into Russia. The champagne enjoyed years of success among well-heeled Russians, and Tsar Nicholas II eventually requested a special champagne to be made for the Imperial Court of Russia. The result was Cristal, a sweet and delicious wine that broke with tradition – instead of being packaged in a dark bottle like, say, Dom Perignon – Cristal came in crystal-clear bottles, hence the name. As legend has it, the transparency was a feature designed so that Tsar Nicholas could tell if somebody was trying to poison his bubbly.

Gallery: Louis Roederer's Cristal Champagne

Dom Perignon
France's King Louis XIV, called The Sun King because everything revolved around him, had an uncanny connection to the champagne that eventually found its way into his court. In 1694, Dom Perignon, the monk who developed the regal wine, had a goal to create the best wine in the world. Sure enough, Dom Perignon became the most expensive wine sold in France that year. The 1921 vintage became the first prestige cuvée ever, with an initial batch sold in 1936. It has been served at all manner of glamorous occasions, including the Shah of Iran's 1959 wedding, as well as Prince Charles and Princess Diana's nuptials in 1981. Since Dom Perignon is a vintage champagne, it's not made in years considered to be weak.

Gallery: Dom Perignon

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Louis Roederer's Cristal: One of the World's Most Prestigious Champagnes

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Louis Roederer's Champagne
For a champagne founded in the same year as the United States of America, Louis Roederer's Cristal has changed remarkably little over the years compared to the country across the pond. A long history of quality is just one of the reasons Cristal has earned a Luxist nominee in the best sparkling wine/Champagne category.

Founded in 1776 as Dubois Pere & Fils, the company was renamed after the founder's nephew, Louis Roederer, who took over in 1833 and renamed the champagne house after himself. One of Roederer's greatest moves was expanding the brand into Russia. The champagne enjoyed years of success among well-heeled Russians, and Tsar Nicholas II eventually requested a special champagne to be made for the Imperial Court of Russia.

Gallery: Louis Roederer's Cristal Champagne

The result was Cristal, a sweet and delicious wine that broke with tradition – instead of being packaged in a dark bottle like, say, Dom Perignon – Cristal came in crystal-clear bottles, hence the name. As legend has it, the transparency was a feature designed so that Tsar Nicholas could tell if somebody was trying to poison his bubbly.

Today, Cristal remains one of the world's most prestigious champagnes, with vintage bottles fetching thousands of dollars in the auction market. In the 1990s, Cristal became a favorite among hip-hop artists.

Cristal remains a favorite of oenophiles worldwide – and strong as ever in Russia, where a new generation of oligarchs now enjoys it.

Vote for the winemaker that you think is the best of breed. The voting period ends on June 30th, with winners announced on July 1, 2010.

Tags: awards-main, Champagne, Louis Roederer, luxist-awards

Champagne Gets The Underwater Treatment

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Champagne producer Louis Roederer has put a new twist on aging their sparkling wine, they are testing out aging the wine in the cold seawater 50 feet down in the bay of Mont Saint-Michel off the coast of Normandy, France. Roederer has placed several dozen bottles underwater and plan to bring them up in one year and hold a tasting session to compare them against wines aged the traditional way in their sellers. Roederer is the first producer to test aging sparkling wine in this way but others use this message for still wines including the Cavas Submarinas wine from Chile.

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Tags: champagne, grapes, louis roederer, sparkling wine