While being one of the youngest estates in Rioja, Bodegas Roda has quickly become one of its finest and certainly most innovative. The estate was set up in 1987. The name Roda is the contraction of the two owners’ names, Mario Rottlant Solá and Carmen Daurella Aguilera

Bodegas Roda - producer

While one of the youngest wine estates in Rioja, Bodegas Roda is one of its finest and most innovative. Browse exclusive releases on the marketplace

The wines of Bodegas Roda, Rioja

About Bodegas Roda

Bodegas Roda 

What is Krug?  Krug is one of the most famous Champagne Houses in the world. It is unusual for making only prestige cuvées and is prized by fine wine lovers, seen by many as the pinnacle of fine Champagne – competing with the likes of Cristal and Dom Pérignon.  When was Krug first made?  Joseph Krug established Krug & Compagnie in 1843 with a wine merchant friend, Hyppolyte de Vivès. Born in Mainz in 1800, Johann-Joseph Krug was the son of a butcher. He dropped the Johann, moved to Paris in 1834 and worked as a bookkeeper at Champagne Jacquesson before starting to blend his first wines with De Vivès, trials for what would eventually become the Krug project.  Is Krug still owned by the Krug family?  No – although the family is still very much involved.  When Joseph passed away in 1866, his son Paul took over the business. In 1868 he moved the business to 5 Rue Coquebert in Reims, the address still occupied by Krug today and home to its historic cellars. The company passed to Paul’s son Joseph II in 1910, but his wife Jeanne took the reins when Joseph II became a prisoner of war during the First World War. Joseph II’s nephew Jean Seydoux became a joint manager after the war, with the business passing to Paul Krug II (Joseph II’s son) in 1959 and then to Henri and Rémi Krug, who joined the company in the 1960s and took over in 1977.  Brothers Henri and Rémi were pivotal in developing the House – expanding the range, building its international reputation and overseeing its sale to luxury goods conglomerate LVMH in 1999. Although they continued to manage the House, the financial backing of LVMH only allowed Krug to thrive. In 2009, Olivier Krug – the sixth generation of his family – took over as Director of the House and remains at the helm today.  What is the Krug style?  Often quite deep golden in colour, Krug is renowned for its use of oak, choosing to ferment all its base wines in old 205-litre oak barrels, allowing micro-oxygenation. This, combined with long lees ageing (minimum six years for non-vintage and 10 for vintage wines), produces a powerful, broad and richly autolytic style of wine, layered with bread, biscuit and brioche notes. The huge number of blending components used for Grande Cuvée makes a particularly complex non-vintage – or as they prefer to call it, multi-vintage – wine. The House also favours picking on the earlier side to retain freshness in the wines. Dosage here is average with the wines labelled Brut, and dosage normally sitting around 5-6g/l in modern releases.  It's interesting to note that Krug feels Meunier is an important element in their blends (sometimes viewed as a lesser grape by Champagne Houses), valuing the mid-palate generosity it brings to wines. Meunier often represents 15-25% of the House’s vintage blends.   What are the different Krug wines?  Joseph Krug had clear ideas about how to make the best Champagne and famously outlined these in his burgundy-coloured leather notebook (which is on display at the Krug family headquarters today). He declared that the House would only make two cuvées, intended to be of equal quality. Cuvée No 1 was a non-vintage wine, conceived to be “the fullest expression of Champagne every year” (embodied today by Grande Cuvée), while Cuvée No 2 would express each vintage. He also firmly believed in the importance of site, writing, “We cannot obtain good wines without using good elements and good terroirs.”  For many years, the House continued to produce just two wines, but the range has since expanded. Although the non-vintage and vintage wines were intended to be equal in quality, the vintage wines command higher prices today.  The Krug range consists of six wines:  Krug Grande Cuvée: Grande Cuvée is Krug’s flagship non-vintage, or multi-vintage (MV), wine, and the modern Cuvée No 1, and previously known as Private Cuvée (until 1978, see below for more on this). There are up to 200 components in each bottling of the wine, combining over 10 vintages (the youngest six years old, the oldest over 20 years old). While it is the House’s “entry-level” offering today, the House holds back many of its best wines from top vintages for the wine. It spends minimum seven years’ ageing on lees prior to disgorgement, with an additional year on cork prior to release. Unlike many non-vintage wines, the goal is not for the wine to be entirely consistent between releases, but to make “the fullest expression of Champagne”. From 2011, this was acknowledged officially when Krug added the Krug ID to every bottle (see more below). In 2016, the House took this further and decided to add an Edition number to each release, starting with Edition 163 (for which the base year was 2007). Some collectors seek out particular editions of Grande Cuvée, with 164 (base 2008) or 168 (base 2012) unsurprisingly lauded. Half-bottles don’t have the edition number on the label, so you need to use the Krug ID to identify the specific bottling.  Krug Rosé: The House’s other non-vintage wine, Krug Rosé was created by Henri and Rémi Krug in the 1970s, with the first release based on the 1976 vintage, released in 1983. The wine is a blend of white wines, with around 11% still red Pinot Noir blended in, combining anything between 20 and 70 different components from five vintages, spending minimum six years on its lees. As for Grande Cuvée, in 2016 Krug added an Edition number to the Rosé label, starting with Edition 21 (base 2008).   Krug Clos du Mesnil: Clos du Mesnil is a single-vineyard vintage Blanc de Blancs Champagne, and one of Krug’s top wines. Champagne expert Richard Juhlin describes it as “the best wine in the world”. Henri and Rémi Krug purchased six hectares of Chardonnay in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in 1971 and when they went to inspect the vineyards they discovered it included a walled 1.84-hectare plot in the heart of the village. On the wall is inscribed, “In the year 1698, this wall was built by Claude Jannin and Pierre Dehée Metoen and in the same year the vines were planted by Gaspard Jannin, son of Claude.” They replanted the site and at first the fruit was blended into the House’s other wines, however they found that the warmer microclimate – surrounded by buildings – produced a distinctive wine, and they decided to bottle it separately. The first vintage was 1979, released in 1986 – at a time when a single variety, single site wine was pioneering. Aged for minimum a decade on its lees, it is only made in certain vintages where the quality allows.  To date, the vintages of Clos du Mesnil produced are: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009.  Krug Clos d’Ambonnay: Pure Pinot Noir from a single 0.68-hectare plot, Clos d’Ambonnay is Krug’s other single-vineyard vintage wine. Henri and Rémi found this site on the edge of the village of Ambonnay, on the southeastern slope of the Montagne de Reims, in 1991, managing to purchase it in 1994. Like Clos du Mesnil, the site is a walled vineyard, with the walls dating back to 1766, although vines weren’t planted until the 20th century. The first vintage of the Blanc de Noirs was produced in 1995 and released in 2007. As with Clos du Mesnil, it sees long lees ageing (minimum a decade) and is only made where vintage conditions allow. Given the size of the vineyard, Clos d’Ambonnay is particularly rare.  To date, the vintages produced of Clos d’Ambonnay are: 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2008.  Krug Clos d’Ambonnay Rosé: The first vintage of Krug’s Clos d’Ambonnay Rosé is set to be released in autumn 2025, the 2008 vintage. The first new cuvée since the House launched Clos d’Ambonnay, the wine is a rosé from the same single vineyard, including 15% still red wine in the blend.  Krug Vintage: The other wine conceived by founder Joseph Krug, Cuvée No 2, was a vintage wine that the House still produces today. It is only made in vintages deemed worthy by the House and spends over 10 years on its lees prior to disgorgement.  Recent vintages produced of Krug vintage are: 1988, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011.  Krug Collection: In the 1980s, Krug introduced its Collection – a late-disgorged release of more mature wines, normally offered around 25 years after the vintage. These wines have been kept in the House’s cellars, ageing in perfect conditions. Releases to date include: 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1995.  What is Private Cuvée?  Private Cuvée was the previous name for Grande Cuvée, the House’s non-vintage wine, labelled as such from 1862 to 1978. Champagne expert Richard Juhlin notes that the style shifted with the name change, with Grande Cuvée a little lighter more Chardonnay-driven and more multi-faceted, however Private Cuvée was closer to a vintage wine in style with more weight. “The style from the 20’s to the 60’s is strikingly constant and if you find a bottle with a good level and with a price tag you can handle, it is a chance you must not miss,” he writes of Private Cuvée.  How much Krug Champagne is made?  Production for the House is kept firmly under wraps, however estimates suggest around 425,000 bottles are made each year.  What is Krug ID?  This six-digit code features on the back label of every bottle of Krug and allows the drinker to find out about their specific bottle of, with the first three digits indicating the quarter and year of disgorgement. You can look up the ID on the House’s website or app to find the blend, oldest and youngest wines, tasting notes, food and music pairing suggestions. The Krug ID was introduced in 2011, so only appears on bottles released after that date.  Does Krug own vineyards?  Krug’s expertise was historically winemaking and blending, and always operated as a négociant, as was the norm for the Grandes Marques in Champagne. Krug bought fruit from carefully selected sites to make their wines, but Henri and Rémi purchased the House’s first vineyards in 1971 – including the now famous Clos du Mesnil.  Today Krug owns 21 hectares of vines, representing around 20% of their production, supplementing this with purchased fruit. Krug sources its Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier from the villages of Ambonnay, Aÿ, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Trépail. All their contracts are for specific parcels, many based on generations-long relationships, with their oldest contract dating back to 1876.  Krug has been increasingly focused on sustainability, not using any herbicides or pesticides in its own vineyards and the estate vineyards are certified organic as of the 2024 vintage.  Who makes Krug?  As with any winery, there is a large team involved in producing Krug – including the growers supplying fruit and those in the winery at Krug. Eric Lebel was the longtime cellarmaster, from 1999 to 2019, handing over to Julie Cavil who worked alongside Lebel for 13 years before taking the reins at the start of 2020.  When it comes to deciding on the blends, there is a tasting committee, led by Cavil and usually with Olivier Krug. The committee meets every day between the end of harvest and March, tasting 15 samples each day (a strict maximum to ensure their judgement isn’t impacted by palate fatigue). Over the period, they aim to taste all 400 samples two or three times in total. Each taster has to describe each sample with just a single word, which cannot be duplicated by any other taster – something that Cavil feels helps give a better overall picture of the wines.  How is Krug made?  As already mentioned, all Krug’s base wines are fermented in old oak. They use 205-litre barrels, averaging 20 years in age, often retired at around 40 years. They do not block malolactic fermentation but do not encourage it, so some wines do go through malolactic fermentation. Post fermentation, the wines are transferred to stainless steel tank (they are not aged in wood, as at Henri Giraud, for example). The blends are decided by the House’s Tasting Committee (led by Cellar Master Julie Cavil) between the end of harvest and April, before being bottled and spending minimum seven years on their lees (10 years for the vintage wines).  Where is Krug made?  For almost two centuries, the wines were made at Krug’s historic premises in Reims, however as of 2024 the winemaking has moved to its new Joseph winery, just next to Clos d’Ambonnay.   What’s the deal with Krug and Burning Man?  Krug caused some controversy when it shot a marketing campaign at the Burning Man festival at Black Rock in Nevada in 2011. The shoot and brand were denounced by the Burning Man organisation for not complying with its principles, commercialising the festival and community.  Why is Krug’s bottle shaped differently?  Krug’s distinctive narrow-necked bottle was introduced in 1978, at the same time as it changed the name of Private Cuvée to Grande Cuvée. The House previously used standard Champagne bottles. Beyond making Krug’s bottles even more distinctive, the narrow neck is intended to reduce oxygen exchange over the ageing process.  How does Krug age?  Krug is renowned for its ageing potential – with all the House’s wines, including the non-vintage cuvées, designed to evolve in bottle. Champagne expert Essi Avellan MW notes: “All Krugs benefit from ageing. Five years after release, they tend to have opened up beautifully, showing more expression and a beautifully harmonious nature. Grand Cuvées are a real delight some 10 to 15 years after release, often at the peak of their expression. The vintages are all long-lived; thereafter it depends on the vintage (and the individual bottle, of course) as to how they age. When well kept, all should age for at least 15 years post-release, and the best for several decades.”  Explore all Krug listings, including the new releases of Grande Cuvée and Rosé, or read more about Champagne and sparkling wine 

Krug is a name with reach far beyond wine lovers, the gold label and iconic bottle shape immediately recognisable. As the latest editions of Grande Cuvée and Rosé are released, we have compiled an insider’s guide to this legendary Champagne house and its wines

Everything you need to know about Krug Champagne – the luxury House and its iconic Grande Cuvee, Rose, Clos du Mesnil, Clos d’Ambonnay and vintage wines

Your essential guide to Krug Champagne 

Everything you need to know about Krug 

It’s four centuries since the Giraud-Hémart family first began farming vines in Aÿ, writing the first chapters of an extraordinary legacy.   Although they started out as tenant farmers, the Church granted them a swathe of land in the 17th century – with François Hémart the first member of the family to be registered in the parish records. The modern history of the family, however, starts in the 20th century, when a soldier by the name of Léon Giraud was garrisoned in Aÿ and fell in love with Madeleine Hémart. The couple soon married and had a son, Henri Giraud, moving into the property that the family still lives in today.  At the time, vineyards across the region had been abandoned in the wake of phylloxera and Léon set about replanting three hectares of vines. For 300 years the family had been growing grapes and selling the fruit, but after Henri returned from the Second World War, he and his father decided to start making their own wine – establishing the Giraud-Hémart label. The business grew and evolved, especially after Claude Giraud (Henri’s second son) arrived in 1972, aged just 20. Working with his father over the 1970s and ’80s they rejigged the vineyard holdings and acquired additional holdings to make up the 10 hectares they own today, as well as changing the property’s name to Champagne Henri Giraud.   In 1990, they started buying in additional fruit to meet demand and made their first vintage of Fût de Chêne – the wine that became Argonne from the 2002 vintage. Although in the 1990s the family was ageing wine in oak, it is only in the 21st century that they started working exclusively with oak from the Argonne forest – now integral to the House’s identity.  The Argonne forest was historically the source for much of the wood used in Champagne, home to over 150 coopers, but was gradually abandoned, suffering from particular damage during the Second World War. Henri Giraud has made it a mission to restore and protect the forest, working with the French National Forest Office (ONF) on a replanting program (and have planted over 60,000 trees to date). The House feels Argonne oak is a key part of their terroir – indeed their top wine takes its name from the forest. The poor, dry soils of the forest mean oak trees grow particularly slowly, resulting in a particularly tight grain, creating a delicately flavoured wood to complement the delicate wines of Aÿ.  Today, the business remains a tightly knit family affair – with the 13th generation running the show. Emmanuelle Giraud is at the helm of the House, having taken over from her father Claude, who while not officially part of the business remains present and involved in key decisions. Emmanuelle’s sister Anne le Golvet-Giraud was drawn to therapeutic practices, launching the property’s trademark Craÿotherapy – chalk-based wellness program offered at their in-house hotel (they were one of the region’s first producers to welcome visitors for tastings and now to stay). It is Anne’s husband, Sébastien le Golvet, who is in charge of the winemaking.  “It’s very important to always be curious, to seek something better from the wine, from the grapes,” Giraud tells us. No one embodies this philosophy at Giraud more than Le Golvet, a force who, since he arrived in 2002, has pushed to experiment and innovate both in the vineyards and winery. Over the last two decades, he’s introduced residue-testing on their soils to confirm their triple-zero approach (zero pesticide, insecticide or fungal control spraying – something they feel is more impactful than organic certification and have long pioneered), banished stainless steel from the winery (using only terracotta and wood) and toasts every barrel the House uses himself. Constantly looking for new ways to elevate the wines further, he has recently created and started using custom barrels with sandstone heads. As Emmanuelle tells us, his philosophy is firmly that, “The best wine will be the next one.”  Henri Giraud manages to balance being at the cutting edge with the patience that traditional-method sparkling wine requires. As Emmanuelle explains, they have to make sure everything is perfect from the moment the grapes are harvested – for any mistakes will be discovered in a decade’s time. While she’s concerned with broader strategy and planning for the business, when it comes to harvest-time, you’ll find her on the winery floor, managing fruit receival, each and every year, seeing the culmination of the year’s work.  Being independent and family-owned allows them the luxury of a truly long-term vision. Each vintage they make trials, the results of which will only be revealed in 10 years’ time, but they’re investing far beyond that – planting 12,000 trees in the Argonne forest each year, making sure that Henri Giraud will still be able to use this special oak in two centuries’ time. The House’s extraordinary wines reflect this vision, testament to their relentless pursuit of quality and remarkable attention to detail. Who knows what the next 400 years will bring – but it will certainly be worth following.  Explore all current Champagne Henri Giraud listings, including the amazing MV10, disgorged in 2017, or read more about Champagne and sparkling wine  

The Giraud-Hémart family has grown vines in Aÿ for 13 generations – starting to make wine under their name in the 1950s. Today Champagne Henri Giraud is one of the region’s smallest houses – and one of the few to remain family-owned. Here, we dive into the property’s heritage with Emmanuelle Giraud 

The Giraud-Hemart family has been growing vines since 1625. Today the family’s descendants run Champagne Henri Giraud – we dive into their legacy and wines 

Celebrating 400 years of Champagne Henri Giraud 

Four centuries of Champagne Henri Giraud 

Wine journalists are jaded folk – spoilt by too many impressive tastings, lunches and dinners. But when Champagne Louis Roederer invites you to an event celebrating 50 years of Cristal Rosé, few refuse. Cristal Rosé is, as Chef de Cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon told us, still “a hidden gem” and the rarest cuvée Roederer produces. It’s not often shown, and even visitors to the estate don’t get to taste the wine.  While Cristal – Champagne’s first prestige cuvée – was created in 1876, its pink sibling was born almost a century later. It was Jean-Claude Rouzaud, current CEO Frédéric Rouzaud’s father, who created the wine, aged 32. He had been managing the company’s vineyards and took over the winemaking in 1974.  “His great vision was to put the vines back in the centre of the creative process,” explains seventh-generation Frédéric Rouzaud. For Roederer, site and farming have long been key to what they do (long operating both as a grower and négociant), but Jean-Claude’s move from vineyard to cellar pushed this further, allowing for – as Lécaillon put it – “a creative and constant dialogue between the vineyard and cellar”.  The same year that he started leading the cellar team, Jean-Claude decided to make a rosé version of Cristal. Almost all rosé Champagne was – and is – made by blending a still red wine in with the base white wines. Jean-Claude, however, wanted to use co-fermentation to keep the wine in the style of Cristal, a decision that Lécaillon says was key, making the wine more ethereal, precise and “Pinot-y”, with a juicier texture.  The wine was built around parcels of Pinot Noir in the Bonottes area of Aÿ, which Lécaillon describes as the “Musigny” of Champagne. In his mind, the Pinot Noir from these plots offers a “special tannic complexity” – tannins that are more saline, integrated and aromatic; the Pinot Noir here is, he says, “effortlessly perfect” and the heart of Cristal Rosé. These three vineyards (Bonotte Pierre Robert, Gargeotte and Côte du Moulin) had been used for Cristal since the 1870s, and more recently became the source for Pinot Noir material for their vine nursery – with 150 different massal selections taken from the plots – long recognised for their quality.  The three original Pinot Noir plots are now being replanted and – while the vines mature – another site in Aÿ, La Villers, a mid-slope parcel at higher altitude, is currently being used in the blend (from the 2018 vintage). It is set to form part of the wine long-term, its cooler position thought to be of particular benefit with climate change. Complementing the 55% Pinot Noir is Chardonnay from two sites – Pierre Vaudon in Avize (bringing more power and richness) and Montmartin in Le Mesnil (lending length, salinity and a chalky minerality).  The first two vintages (1974 and 1975) were more experimental, as Jean-Claude figured the wine and style out, but the third attempt in 1976 produced something special – with sufficient phenolic ripeness to produce a rosé truly worthy of the Cristal name. Even now, 48 years later, that wine is singing – combining savoury rye and brown miso notes with pear tarte tatin and an earthy power. While it had a flurry of three vintages at the start of its life, just 25 vintages of Cristal Rosé have been produced to date. The wine needs a year where not only the quality of fruit is outstanding, but the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay ripen at the same time – allowing for their co-fermentation – something that is relatively rare.  Only made with vines that are minimum 20 years old, yields are low for Champagne (at 35-40hl/ha).  The Pinot Noir is destemmed, crushed and left to macerate. Earlier vintages saw this happen over two to four days and at warmer temperatures, but the winemaking has evolved over the years, with a pivotal shift from the 2008 vintage. From 2008. Lécaillon started chilling the Pinot Noir down to -4̊C overnight, prior to de-stemming and crushing the fruit – something which he believes avoids extracting any green character.   The must is then left to cold-soak for between seven and 10 days, with no punch-downs or pump-overs – a true “infusion” (to avoid any microbial spoilage, they cover it with dry ice for the first four days, then use nitrogen). The must isn’t chilled during this time, and the temperature gradually rises to a maximum 8-9̊C. Moving to a cold-soak was inspired by an accident. In the warm 1989 vintage, Lécaillon’s first year at Roederer, they didn’t have a cooling system in the cellar, and the Pinot Noir was left in a reefer – undergoing an inadvertent cold-soak. The resulting wine was so good that it inspired Lécaillon.  Just as the fermentation starts, the must is racked off and blended with the Chardonnay which has been whole-bunch pressed pneumatically (Lécaillon argues the grape’s reductive nature needs a little skin contact to avoid being overly thiol-driven and Sauvignon-esque). Around 20% of the base wine sees oak. After secondary fermentation (under crown cap, something with Lécaillon argues helps preserve precision and terroir versus cork), the wine spends eight years on its lees, developing immense complexity.  “Since 1974, it has been our laboratory of farming, of winemaking,” says Jean-Baptise Lécaillon of the wine. Cristal Rosé was in fact the House’s first cuvée to be farmed biodynamically, and the first biodynamic prestige cuvée in Champagne, from the 2007 vintage. He explains that he is looking for phenolic ripeness, integrated with the salinity of Champagne, seamlessly combining the tannins and acidity; a wine complemented – but not dominated – by bubbles of salt.  The wine is undeniably remarkable. Tasting through a range of vintages from 1976 to the present day, all in magnum (find full tasting notes below), the vibrancy, purity and moreish, saline, minerality of these wines left me speechless. Their ability to age is effortless, with the 1989, for example, still tasting incredibly youthful. Talking about Cristal Rosé’s evolution, Lécaillon explains that he finds the first decade is all about fruit, but then the wines return to their site and soil, becoming wines of place. Conversation strays into weather Champagne today, with global warming, can still make wines that will age as beautifully.  “Champagne is not just about acid; it’s about freshness,” says Lécaillon. He points to the 1976 and 1989 vintages – both incredibly hot years, with the fruit picked at almost 12% potential alcohol and modest acidity levels – and yet the wines are full of freshness. Back then, producers were on holiday throughout August, and the fruit was picked in September (1st for the 1976 and from 5th for the 1989), but with such conditions today they would have harvested in mid-August. It is perhaps, he suggests, a lesson that the region is overreacting to warm conditions – with too many producers chasing acidity, rather than phenolic ripeness. For the skins are, he argues, the key to this sense of freshness, the dry extract that allows the wine to age.   The House has introduced a Cristal Rosé Vinothèque, or late release. To date, there have only been a handful of vintages – the 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2002. The maturation for this wine isn’t set and varies according to the vintage, normally spending longer on its lees, both sur latte (lying down) and sur pointe (upside down), the idea being to build umami complexity in the wine. The sur pointe ageing is unusual, something Lécaillon favours for its more reductive nature, keeping the wine aromatically fresh (the wine is still riddled four times a year in the same position, to agitate the lees and absorb any oxygen). Generally these releases are offered around 15-17 years after the vintage. The dosage is often lower than the original bottling, with the longer lees ageing lending balance without a higher sugar addition. Tasting the 2002 Vinothèque (a wine that feels infantile), Lécaillon says: “Is it better? I don’t know, but it’s another expression.”  I’ve written before about Lécaillon’s tireless approach to wine-growing – constantly looking to learn and evolve, and the week after our dive into Cristal Rosé he was flying to Japan to visit the Fukuoka farm (founded by Masanobu Fukuoka, the author of The One-Straw Revolution and a pioneer of permaculture or “natural” farming). His fight against the “banalisation” of taste continues, as he looks for ever-more ways to enrich the world of Louis Roederer. If the next 50 years of Cristal Rosé is nearly as good as the first, we’ve all got a lot to look forward to.  Five decades of Cristal Rosé: the tasting  2013 Cristal Rosé: A beautiful, late-ripening growing season that provided the last October harvest to date. A wine Chef de Cave Jean-Baptise Lécaillon describes as having “eternal youth” – something that is hard to disagree with after tasting the wine. This is a baby, the nose enticing with delicate floral aromas and bright citrus, not giving too much away. The palate is long and saline, tightly wound, but bursting with bright fruit on the mouthwatering finish, combining lush redcurrant and lemon. Gorgeous. Dosage 7g/l, tasted from magnum.  2012 Cristal Rosé: Lécaillon notes how 2012 was seen as an “easy” vintage on release, riper and richer with a little more Pinot Noir in the blend, but is now entering its second life, with reductive, chalky notes that bring it back to its soils. The wine is beautifully earthy and drastically different to the 2013, with power and intensity. It’s very savoury, a wine that is all about breadth and structure, with wild strawberry and raspberry notes mingling alongside a sea-spray freshness, driving on to a long, mineral finish. Dosage 8g/l, tasted from magnum.  2008 Cristal Rosé: This was the first fully organic vintage for the entire Roederer estate, and marks the start of a new era for Cristal Rosé with its cool “infusion” technique for the Pinot Noir. Paired with the 1995 vintage, the two wines are windows into two completely different worlds of Cristal. With the copper tone of a sunset, it’s a wine of muscle. It’s almost haughty, with length, power and elegance – showing off its flawless structure, with a zesty citrus drive complementing its austerity. The finish is long and saline. It will be incredible to taste this in 20 years’ time. Dosage 8g/l, tasted from magnum.  1995 Cristal Rosé: This vintage was one of the last to see the Pinot Noir soaked at 20-24̊C. It is, in Lécaillon’s mind, the “same terroir, but a different story” versus more modern iterations of the wine. The wine glows golden in the glass – the colour of the sun just as it breaks the horizon. It’s incredibly open, the aromatics constantly shifting to reveal new layers. There’s a touch of mushroom or truffle, but with layers of rich, almost tropical, fruit behind – think peach, mango, peach tea and the bite of pomegranate, with caramel sweetness, but still a saline twist to the finish. A wine of weight and depth. Dosage 12g/l, tasted from magnum.  1989 Cristal Rosé: This was a very warm vintage, harvested from 5th September, and the wine technically doesn’t have high acidity – yet is a wine of impressive freshness. Grilled hazelnuts edge a nose of candied orange peel and pomegranate, and a coffee note that emerges with air. There’s a liveliness to the palate here, even over three decades on, with a gorgeous freshness and creaminess to the mousse. The fruit on the palate is lush, with generous mouth-watering peach and a taut, mineral backbone. It’s amazing how young this tastes still. Dosage 12g/l, tasted from magnum.  1976 Cristal Rosé: Despite coming from another warm vintage (with a very hot, dry August – and harvested from 1st September), Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon notes the freshness on the 1976 vintage, and how it seems to have never become too evolved. It’s much more savoury than the 1976, with rye bread and brown miso sitting alongside caramelised pears, tarte tatin and a hint of Oloroso Sherry. The palate is a rush of fine bubbles, fresh and with a citrus bite but a savoury framework behind. A remarkable wine. Dosage 10g/l, tasted from magnum.  2002 Cristal Rosé Vinothèque: This was disgorged in 2019, spending 11 years on lees sur latte, and then another five sur pointe, followed by an additional four years’ post-disgorgement ageing prior to release. This wine is so tightly coiled, a wine not yet revealing everything it has to offer – although you can see the incredible structure. It’s so vibrant, with energy and a lushness as it drives toward a seemingly never-ending finish. It’s gorgeous, layered with mandarin, grapefruit pith, chalky minerality and smoked salt, lingering on the soft, saline tail of the mouthwatering finish. Dosage 8g/l, tasted from magnum.    The releases of Cristal Rosé to date: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014  Browse all current listings from Champagne Louis Roederer or read more Editorial 

This year marks the 50th birthday of Cristal Rosé, Champagne Louis Roederer’s rarest wine. Sophie Thorpe caught up with CEO Frédéric Rouzaud and Chef de Cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon about this very special prestige cuvée and tastes through five decades of the wine

As Champagne Louis Roederer celebrates the 50th birthday of Cristal Rose, we talk to Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon and Frederic Rouzaud 

Celebrating 50 years of Cristal Rose Champagne

Five decades of Cristal Rosé

“I want to struggle,” says Cristiana Tiberio, earnestly, as we talk in London. This Abruzzo winemaker has rapidly become one of Italy’s most fashionable names. Thanks to her hands-off approach in the winery, she’s a darling of the natural wine scene, but is also earning top scores and rave reviews from the likes of Eric Asimov (The New York Times), Antonio Galloni (Vinous) and Ian d’Agata. But, as I found talking to her, she’s far from complacent.  Cristiana fell in love with wine as a teenager. Her father, Riccardo, was friends with Bruno Giacosa and the legendary Piedmontese producer’s wines were her favourites. She noticed early on that wines made with the same grape from different sites tasted totally unlike each other. “Wine was an infinity world,” she tells me, still with a touch of whimsy – and it was a world that she set her heart on exploring. When the time came, she set off to study chemistry at university – looking to the science behind wine rather than more practical oenology. Before she knew it, however, she’d been diverted, ending up with a PhD in photochemistry, far from “the infinity world” she’d committed to. So she quit. Instead, she travelled the world, working with various top producers, including Jacques Selosse, Nicolas Joly, Egon Müller and leading names in Chablis, before returning to Abruzzo in 2004.  In the meantime, her father Riccardo had found a special parcel of land in the mountains near the town of Cugnoli, with an abandoned plot of Trebbiano Abruzzese – the indigenous grape that had largely disappeared from the region. With its large, juicy berries and thin skins, this variety is more susceptible to fungal disease, can be challenging to ripen and lose its bright acidity if not picked at the perfect moment. Trebbiano Toscano (ubiquitous across much of Italy, and in France under the guise of Ugni Blanc) had replaced many plantings – favoured for its small berries, ability to accrue sugar easily and retain its moderate acidity.  This abandoned vineyard had survived largely because of its unique site – with canyons to the south and west, meaning a wind blows through the vines constantly, clearing the humidity and reducing disease risk. It was also planted in the traditional Abruzzese pergola system, with two vines planted at each post, wider (four-by-three-metre) spacing, providing competition but also forcing the branches to grow longer, meaning a larger canopy, aiding photosynthesis and therefore ripening. Now 95 years old, these ungrafted vines had also endured thanks to their fortuitously sandy soils (a neighbouring plot, on marly clay, had to be replanted on rootstock, and is now around 80 years old).  While the Trebbiano Abruzzese was the lure of this site, much of the property Riccardo purchased was unplanted. Today, Tiberio has 30 hectares of vines, all in one contiguous parcel – with additional woodland, as well as alfafa and wheat fields, all part of the family’s championing of biodiversity. And, as much of the area hadn’t been planted, the property hadn’t suffered from industrial farming – meaning the soils were already healthy, however preserving it is at the forefront of what Tiberio does.  The vineyards are divided between Trebbiano Abruzzese, Pecorino and Montepulciano – a fraction of the various grapes permitted in Abruzzo, but – importantly for Cristiana – the ones that were historically native to their mountainous terrain. They only planted with massal selections – something Cristiana feels is key. She argues that clones sourced from vine nurseries are designed to be planted anywhere, sacrificing anything “native” in the name of disease resistance and/or yield. “For me, historical heritage is everything in the wines,” she explains. On a more practical front, she finds that massal selections cope better in difficult vintage conditions, adapting more easily. As evidence, she points to a plot of ungrafted vines that she planted in February of this year (2024), explaining how despite the extremely dry conditions, the vines survived – entirely unirrigated.  While Cristiana clearly values the traditional pergola training, she has chosen to use guyot training for most of their vines. The old vines – largely used for Fonte Canale and Archivio – are under pergola, however she doesn’t feel it’s right for everything. When it comes to Pecorino, she explains how the variety naturally grows vertically, meaning pergola-training would force the vine into an unnatural shape, impact sap flow, and therefore quality. As for Montepulciano, while they have 2.5 hectares (used for Archivio) under pergola, she feels that the pergola system can push the grape’s rustic character – the thin skins with less phenolic ripeness (due to shading) at risk of producing more easily extractable, less refined tannins. For her, guyot elevates the flavour profile of the grape and helps balance the potentially aggressive tannin, avoiding it being too “loud”.   Cristiana’s brother Antonio is in charge in the vineyards, where they work organically. They briefly trialled biodynamics, however have veered away from using the preparations, along with any fertiliser or seeded cover crops – keen to avoid adding any outside inputs that aren’t “respectful of their terroir”, as Cristiana puts it. The winemaking continues this philosophy, with indigenous yeast, almost no new oak across the range (just 30% for the Archivio bottling), the wines unfined and unfiltered, largely avoiding temperature control where possible, and SO2 only added at bottling.  Although organic, they aren’t certified – something she feels strongly about. She explains how both dedicated, small growers and “big, industrial” producers can bear the same certification, while one’s farming is considered and artisanal, yet the other is borderline conventional. It “certifies our attitude and we stay lazy”, she tells me. “We stop struggling with our mind to find what is better for our terroir,” she says – something that she is anxious to avoid, keen to continue striving, pushing and working to do better, rather than tick a box and move on.  And that work is not merely intellectual. Having just finished harvest in Abruzzo before touching down in London, she was soon flying off to Oregon – squeezing in a second northern-hemisphere vintage at a property there. It’s a chance to learn, and few 50-year-olds seem to be quite as restless as this one. While Tiberio is a family venture, it’s not one that was passed through the generations – something for which Cristiana is grateful; she has been able to choose her site, choose the wines she’s making and define her own philosophy – one that is now resonating loud and clear around the world.  The Tiberio range  The regional wines  Trebbiano d’Abruzzo: Tiberio’s entry-level Trebbiano Abruzzese comes from three hectares of 75-year-old pergola-trained vines, those that were grafted 14 years after their oldest (dedicated to Fonte Canale). Only made with free-run juice, it’s fermented and aged in stainless steel.  Pecorino Colline Pescaresi: The vine material for their Pecorino was selected from a few old vines on the site, but comes from a 3.8-hectare plot planted in 2001 and guyot-trained. Only made with free-run juice, it’s fermented and aged in stainless steel. These are some of the oldest Pecorino vines in the region and the wine is unlike the modest Pecorino you may have previously tasted – ageing impressively.  Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo: This rosato is very special. It comes from nine hectares of Montepulciano, planted in 2001 and Guyot-trained. Made with free-run juice (with no maceration whatsoever) and only seeing stainless steel, it’s a perfumed and bright style of rosé that can and should age.  Montepulciano d’Abruzzo: This is the largest production cuvée, coming from 15 hectares of Montepulciano – both older pergola-trained vines (62-year-old) and younger Guyot (planted in 2001). As with the other entry-level wines, it only sees stainless steel, spending 15 days on skins.  Single-vineyard bottlings  Fonte Canale: Arguably Tiberio’s most sought-after wine, Fonte Canale is pure Trebbiano Abruzzese from 736 ungrafted, 95-year-old vines, spread across around two hectares of sandy soils. (They currently aren’t replanting the individual vines when they die, as don’t want to plant grafted stock, but are cautious of fragile young ungrafted vines attracting phylloxera.) It was first made in 2012, with these ungrafted vines needing time to recover from their previous neglect. The combination of site and variety produces wines with modest alcohols (often 12-12.5%) and naturally low pH (the 2018 is a mere 2.7pH!), giving a backbone of taut acidity (as Tiberio says – “not raw, but flavourful acid”). The site’s indigenous yeast produces a cool ferment (reaching maximum 23̊C) and a wine that doesn’t need racking post ferment, with little reduction. The malolactic is naturally blocked by the low pH and the wine only sees stainless steel – “to allow this wine to express its meaning”, Cristiana says. This stunning, vibrant white is a pure expression of a special site – one that ages beautifully, with its old vines almost overpowering vintage. If any further praise were needed for this wine, it has featured on the list at Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana since its first release.  Colle Vota: First bottled separately in 2014, this vineyard is always the last to be picked. Planted in 2000 with massal selections from their old Montepulciano and guyot-trained, Tiberio finds the berries have thicker skins but release less during maceration (around 20 days). She also finds the tannins in the stems different here so is using a small portion of whole-bunch fermentation in the blend. Again with only free-run juice, the wine doesn’t see any oak whatsoever. Coming in a Burgundy-shaped bottle, this is the lighter of Tiberio’s two Montepulciano bottlings, but still with a firm tannic backbone, but with more delicate perfume.  Archivio: Launched in 2017, Archivio comes from the property’s 60-year-old pergola-trained Montepulciano on clay-rich soils, where the wind helps thicken the skins. Tiberio finds that the fruit has thinner skins from the middle of the pergola system, so these bunches are harvested separately. With thinner skins, the ferment has more lees and more reduction, needing oxygenation, so this is the 30% that goes into new oak to give it the necessary air. The bolder and firmer of the two Montepulciano bottlings, it is bottled in a Bordeaux-style bottle to indicate its ageing capacity – a wine that Tiberio confesses can be “monolithic” in youth, but offers great potential.  And coming soon… Quarmarì: A new single-vineyard Pecorino from 2023, this wine takes its name from the family dog, who passed away a few years ago. The wine has – so far – only been tasted by Ian d’Agata, who wrote that it is “a wine so amazingly good and unique that it will shatter all you thought you knew about the grape and what it can deliver”. Given how good even the entry-level Pecorino is, we can’t wait to try this.  The vertical tasting Pecorino  2006 Pecorino Colline Pescaresi: It’s hard to believe this is close to two decades old – the wine vibrant, lively and juicy with lean lemon freshness to the palate. There’s a suppleness to the body, yet it’s taut and mineral, and more honeyed and herbal notes emerging with air.  2009 Pecorino Colline Pescaresi: The 2009 Pecorino is instantly open, giving sage, thyme and honey on the nose, alongside fresh white peach. On the palate, however, it shows its restraint – still fulsome but with a mineral backbone that makes it feel youthful.  2013 Pecorino Colline Pescaresi: Leesy and mineral, this is almost reminiscent of mature Chablis or Blanc de Blancs Champagne – with a honeyed, chamomile edge. The palate is waxy and long, with a herbal lift to the finish.  2015 Pecorino Colline Pescaresi: There remains a creaminess to the nose here – the wine tighter than the 2013, with a limey, lean purity and plenty of energy.  2019 Pecorino Colline Pescaresi: This is strikingly different after the 2015 – much riper and more exotic, with apricot, peach, mango and orange peel. Combined with the wine’s viscosity, there’s something Viognier-like, however there’s still brilliant, mineral energy here, with tight, citrus-edged acidity.  Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo  2022 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo: It will be amazing to see this wine develop. The nose is restrained – you can feel the potential behind. Gradually wild strawberry and bright raspberry emerge, alongside delicate rose petal florals. It’s tightly wound with immense energy to the flinty palate, a minerality driving through its core into the long, mouthwatering blood-orange finish.  2020 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo: Deeper-coloured than the 2018, the 2020 has a brighter nose – with raspberry sherbet, strawberry laces and a creamy richness. The acidity again is in the driving seat, the palate chalky and mineral with lemon freshness and a slight phenolic grip that frames the crunchy red fruit.  2018 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo: A surprisingly deep pink (especially given this is made only with free-run juice), with a copper hue. This was a real highlight of the tasting. The nose combines a flinty minerality with a funky, savoury, almost cheesy note, alongside dried cherry and rose florals. The palate has a line of bright acidity and a mouthwatering lemon finish. Very serious rosé that deserves bottle age.  Fonte Canale  2021 Fonte Canale: From a very dry growing season, this is such a baby. The nose is mineral with notes of pear skin, white florals, lime pith and cordial, with riper apricot emerging. It’s vibrant and full of tight, lemony acid, driving on to the chalky finish. Precise and pointed, there’s crisp apple and herbal freshness, with a saline edge.  2020 Fonte Canale: At first with a touch of gunflint reduction, the smokiness gradually lifts to reveal a tight and lean expression of Trebbiano d’Abruzzese – all citrus and mineral, needing time and air to reveal itself fully.  2019 Fonte Canale: The nose here combines vibrant green apple, greengage and lemon with a sea-spray freshness. It’s still limey and tight on the palate, but with a soft, full weight too – with generous yet tangy, white-pear fruit on the mid-palate, before tightening up on the saline, mineral finish.  2018 Fonte Canale: Dried herbs mingle on the nose with more hedonistic fruit – peach and green mango,, with real weight to the fruit here. There’s still the bite of piercing lemon acidity, surrounded by fleshier peach fruit.  2017 Fonte Canale: This feels much more closed in comparison to the 2018, with pure citrus energy, tangy, pure and limey, but with a slight creaminess mingling with the tart fruit. It’s concentrated and full of promise, but not giving much away now.  2016 Fonte Canale: Waxy and bright, the 2016 is full of energy. Pure flint, Meyer lemon and grapefruit pith, with more delicate white florals all vie for attention, while the palate is all about pure crunchy apple, minerals and its vibrant acidity.   2015 Fonte Canale: The nose here is complex – with notes of honey, chamomile, tarragon, bruised apple and a praline richness. The palate, meanwhile, feels brilliantly youthful, with lime sherbet and chalky minerality driving long into the mouthwatering finish.  2014 Fonte Canale: This was closed at first, with subtle floral tones of apple blossom and honeysuckle dancing on a background of lemon and pear flesh. The palate has that familiar drive of acidity leading into the impressively long, saline finish.  2013 Fonte Canale: Fresh cashew mingles with lemon sherbet on the subtle nose of the 2013, a wine with lift and energy. The palate is lively and long, with the finish offering honey, herbal notes and sweet hay.  2012 Fonte Canale: The first ever vintage of Fonte Canale, it was a real treat to try this special wine. The nose combines rosemary and thyme with candied lemon peel, as well as more honeyed notes. The palate is lithe and vibrant still, with a stony purity and saline finish.   Colle Vota  2020 Colle Vota: This combines juicy dark fruit, sweet spice, baked plum and violet florals. Rich black and red cherry fills the palate, with an edge of dried herbs and the scent of nutmeg. The tannins are savoury and firm, with a chalky freshness and zesty edge to the acidity.  2019 Colle Vota: The 2019 offers floral lift, with brighter cherry and raspberry fruit. Less savoury than the 2020, the palate is tight and mineral, yet with a softness to the mouth-filling fruit, all cut by juicy acidity.  2018 Colle Vota: This is drastically different to the 2019, offering an aromatic profile of baked strawberry and tea leaf – almost lapsang souchong. The chalky minerality stands out here, with high, piercing acidity giving the wine backbone.  2014 Colle Vota: There’s a significant colour change moving from the 2018 to the 2014 Colle Vota, while the nose reinforces this shift with leather and damp undergrowth sitting alongside dried red fruit. The tannins have softened and are supple, while the acidity still refreshes and cuts through the fruit.  Archivio  2020 Archivio: Savoury and rich, this is a powerful, dark, compact Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that needs time. It is intense and structured, full of tight bramble fruit and drying tannins, but with an impressive line of acidity at its core.  2019 Archivio: This is much more open than the 2020, with a sweeter, more red-fruited profile, and more overt sweet spice. Dried herbs and incense complement the bramble fruit. There’s a firm chalky grip to the tannins, tightening up as the structure announces itself on the palate, yet with mouthwatering acid keeping things balanced.  2018 Archivio: The sweet, baked red fruit of the vintage seems to carry through both of the reds in 2018. There’s a softness to the fruit, yet still power behind. It’s full-bodied and firm, yet the most approachable of the trio of 2018, 2019 and 2020, with fresh, juicy acidity.  2017 Archivio: There’s a touch of maturity just starting to show here, with the first hint of sousbois and leathery richness, an almost tarry character, sitting alongside the sweet plum, baked blackberry and smoke. The tannic framework stands strong, even seven years on, needing additional bottle age to round out.  Explore all current Tiberio listings or read more about Italy 

Few names in Abruzzo have become as sought-after as Tiberio, best known for her single-vineyard Fonte Canale, Colle Vota and Archivio bottlings. We sat down with Cristiana Tiberio herself to talk about the project – and taste through a vertical of these extraordinary, category-defying wines

Sitting down with Cristiana Tiberio, cult Abruzzo winemaker, and tasting a vertical of Fonte Canale, Colle Vota, Archivio wines

Cristiana Tiberio – advancing Abruzzo

Advancing Abruzzo: Tiberio

It’s easy to make assumptions about William Kelley. In some ways, he seems like a caricature of the stereotypical wine writer: an excruciatingly RP English drawl, a doctorate in 19th century history from Oxford, a childhood divided between London’s Belsize Park and more rural Suffolk, and a cellar of seemingly endless depths (or so his Instagram suggests). And yet, there’s much more to the Wine Advocate’s Editor-in-Chief than meets the eye. Kelley sprung from anonymity rapidly. His mentor was Hugo Dunn-Meynell, a family friend who had been a protégé of André Simon and managed the Wine & Food Society for 15 years; organising Dunn-Meynell’s cellar formed Kelley’s early vinous education. He joined Oxford’s famous Wine Circle, acting as President for three years during his studies, which concluded with a PhD. “Education in the humanities is the only form of institutionalised punishment where you get extra time for good behaviour,” Kelley says with a chuckle. Academia wasn’t for him, but, as he tells me, with a casual shrug: “I kept getting scholarships and things, so I kept on doing it.” Wine, meanwhile, played an ever-growing role in his life – from pillaging his college’s cellars, helping the staff decant old vintage Ports, increasing involvement in the Wine Circle, and trips to visit producers. Kelley penned his first feature for Noble Rot in 2015, a spotlight on the late, elusive Henri Bonneau. He was published in Decanter the following year, where he soon secured the North American beat. He covered Burgundy’s 2015 and 2016 vintages for the magazine, before joining the Wine Advocate team in 2017 – just two years after he’d first started writing about wine. In March of this year (2024), he took over as Editor-in-Chief – arguably the biggest job in wine writing. That’s quite the trajectory for someone who fell into the job. “I always wanted to make wine,” Kelley says. “Writing about it sounded like a good idea to make some money, you know? I found the meaning afterwards.” And that meaning is what makes Kelley so interesting, both as a writer and an editor – one that is quietly leading a revolution at the Wine Advocate. I always wanted to make wine,” Kelley says. “Writing about it sounded like a good idea to make some money, you know?  “What we do can be amazingly useful in disrupting hierarchies and forcing critical reflection,” Kelley tells me. “I don’t think we do enough of those things currently – but this is something we’re going to do more of.” In his mind, the Wine Advocate’s purpose is “to keep everybody honest”. The publication was purchased by the Michelin Guide in 2019 (having held 40% since 2017), and Kelley’s been talking to the Michelin team – about how they choose which restaurants get reviewed, and the criteria on which they’re judged, looking for possible synergies. The difference between two and three stars, for example, is more subjective than whether or not an establishment makes it into the guide – and it’s similar with wine. Although there will always be an element of subjectivity, especially when it comes to the two- or three-star equivalents, Kelley is trying to bring more consistency to the way wines are scored. He’s brought in technical training for the entire reviewing team – looking at perceptive thresholds for faults such as brettanomyces and mouse, while also ensuring that they’re all using the same lexicon – that one person’s cinnamon isn’t another’s clove. He cites the world of perfume, where training is intensively scientific and perfumers have to pinpoint hundreds, if not thousands, of specific scents – strikingly different to the world of wine, where tasting is often just “free association”. The team even sends samples off to a laboratory for analysis. This is all part of how Kelley hopes to tackle the inflation, and compression, of scores (“a huge problem” he confesses) – which in turn is devaluing both ratings and the role of those that give them. Kelley is unusual in the critical sphere, for both making wine and reviewing it. He’s received criticism for this duality, although openly declares any interests in reviews (such as for Domaine Felettig, an estate from which he buys fruit). His experience in the vineyard and winery, however, gives him a unique perspective and allows him to engage with producers on a deeper level – something he wants to see more of across the team. What we do can be amazingly useful in disrupting hierarchies and forcing critical reflection When I ask how the publication determines what gets reviewed, Kelley explains how, for a long time, writers at the Wine Advocate had KPIs for the number of reviews published – trying to tackle as much as possible of the increasingly diverse world of fine wine in a bid for relevance. But he’s clear that needs to change: “We need to embrace the idea of reviewing fewer wines in more depth and following them more closely, because that reflects how people consume today,” he says. Part of that, for him, involves getting into vineyards and wineries to see how people are working, and spending enough time to fully understand it. He wants to put an end to gathering samples in anonymous tasting spaces; for him, the supposed neutrality of that experience is limiting. “How do you invest in the stock market if you know nothing about a company’s performance?” he says. “How do you define authenticity? For me, it’s about taking risks. It’s about exposure to negative consequences in pursuit of a goal, a conviction,” Kelley tells me – and it’s authenticity that he wants the Wine Advocate to be championing. “We’re in a period when winemaking conditions are more extreme, where traditional hierarchies of sites are being upended, and for the industry to digest all of that, we can be immensely useful voices.” He's clear that wine remains old-fashioned in many ways with an “aura of tradition” that consumers like, whether the family pedigree of certain estates (“We don’t want seventh-generation politicians, but suddenly we like nothing better than to buy a seventh-generation wine.”) or antiquated classifications (“Having a great classification is very nice – but it shouldn’t be a licence to print money. It should be an obligation to do better.”). The Wine Advocate, however, has the ability to champion young producers, shine a light on new names and question the current state of the industry. It can – in short – disrupt the status quo. One of the challenges with wine is that critics and writers are often dependent on producers for access, especially when it comes to the rarest and most sought-after wines. Truly impartial judgement is difficult when a low score or negative review risks not being invited back. (Kelley himself has been banned from estates – and sometimes later un-banned.) The industry is riddled with such conflicts of interest. But, for Kelley: “It’s not actually about avoiding [conflicts of interest], because you can’t… our business is about managing them; it’s about being very transparent.” We’re in a period when winemaking conditions are more extreme, where traditional hierarchies of sites are being upended While there are of course strict rules in place regarding hospitality and producers, the Wine Advocate’s expenses policy is generous enough, Kelley assures me, to allow writers to “engage with [producers] as an equal” – and ensure there’s no pay-to-play. Wine criticism isn’t renowned for its generous salaries, yet Kelley notes how important it is for reviewers “to be paid enough to buy the wines and have an independent relationship with [them]”. He highlights how it’s the bottles that he might have misjudged that have shaped him most professionally – lingering long in the memory as he tries to unravel how and why he might have misread a wine. Inevitably, Kelley is having to take a step back from reviewing to allow him to steer the ship. He’s expanding the team and plans to keep writing about Burgundy for now, but is keen to avoid “sitting on” any particular region (“I want to actually try to create new voices,” he says). When we talk, he hasn’t even hit six months in his role as Editor-in-Chief, and there is clearly more he wants to tackle, bringing further nuance to the way the Wine Advocate rates and reports on wines and producers. Wine writing was never the goal, however, and as he approaches a decade in his accidental career, his feet are getting itchy. He’s juggling his small project in the US (Beau Rivage) and his Burgundy label (largely négociant with two tiny parcels of his own, Beaune Premier Cru Les Chouacheaux and Côte de Beaune) alongside the job – and that’s where he wants to be. Once he’s finished his work reforming the Wine Advocate, he’ll be found among the vines in Burgundy. Wine is – and always will be – his life. “If it’s not an obsession, you’re not doing it right,” he says. It is this almost manic focus – a combination of true passion and intellectual curiosity – that is likely to define his work, both at the Wine Advocate and beyond.  Explore more Editorial

Earlier this year, William Kelley was named Editor-in-Chief of the Wine Advocate, taking over from his colleague Joe Czerwinski. We sat down with him to find out more about how he stumbled into writing, the role of critics today and why – for him – wine is much more than just a job    

The Wine Advocate’s new Editor-in-Chief, William Kelley, on stumbling into wine writing, the role of critics and why wine is much more than a job

Talking to the Wine Advocate’s William Kelley

Advocating for change: William Kelley

This year sees the release of the 20th vintage of Cheval des Andes – Cheval Blanc’s operation in Mendoza. Since the team from the legendary Saint-Emilion estate embarked on the venture with Terrazas de los Andes, 25 years ago, much has changed – and this is the start of a new era for the property. What was once a working concept has taken root.  “This is the beginning of our adult life,” says Technical Director Pierre-Olivier Clouet. “We have a real identity today.” It’s taken a quarter-century for the property to shake off the uncertainty of youth and find firm footing – something that hasn’t necessarily been easy.  “We made mistakes,” Clouet confesses. Not having a historic reputation to rely on, the team at Cheval des Andes had sought out high scores, chasing points to prove their worth. But, in a still Parker-dominant era, that meant making wines with “ripe grapes, a lot of extraction, a high level of alcohol – you [had] to show the muscle to explain that you are a great wine”, explains Clouet. “For a long time, the recipe was in the cellar; nobody cared where the vines were.” Now, however, that’s all changed.  From 2011, the team started shifting focus to the vineyard, working more closely with their French counterparts and vice-versa. The arrival of Lorenzo Pasquini (now the man at the helm of Ch. d’Yquem) in 2015 was key to the transition, as Cheval des Andes started to focus on a shared vision of fine wine – one that is about freshness, balance and ageing potential, and one that defines Cheval Blanc.  Only with a few wrong turns, however, can you be sure you’re on the right path – and Clouet is clear that those first 16 years, figuring out what Cheval des Andes should and could be, has been “super important” in helping them build “something with real sincerity, real authenticity”. Most importantly, Cheval des Andes is not intended to be, nor is a copy of Cheval Blanc: “It is, in our mind, absolutely an Argentine wine,” says Clouet.  The original 31-hectare vineyard is in Las Compuertas in Luján de Cuyo, a subregion of Mendoza. It is on these clay-dominant soils at around 1,000 metres’ altitude that Pierre Lurton discovered a plot of ungrafted Malbec in 1998. Planted in 1929, the vine material pre-dates phylloxera, descended from a selection imported to Argentina in 1852 – back when the grape dominated Bordeaux. This selection is key to the DNA of Cheval des Andes and, along with the huge diurnal shift, produces Malbec that is fresh, precise, perfumed and delicately structured. For Clouet, the “true” Malbec is closer to Pinot Noir in style – more floral than fruit-led, vibrant and even ethereal.  In 2001, the team purchased an additional parcel in La Consulta in the Uco Valley, at higher altitude and with more gravel-driven soils, a cooler site that has an even more significant diurnal swing in temperature. While they once might have used only a fraction of the estate to produce the flagship wine, they have moved to using as much as they can – to create a pure expression of the entire property, declassifying only plots that don’t fit in the blend or meet their stringent quality standards.  All 50 hectares are farmed with the same philosophy as their vines in Saint-Emilion – employing extensive cover crops, trees scattered throughout the vineyard, and with the same incredible attention to detail and focus on sustainability. “We work with the same vision and the same conviction,” says Clouet. One key difference, of course, is that irrigation is essential in this part of Argentina – but, here again, they’ve changed tack over the last decade or so. Rather than traditional modern drip irrigation where necessary water would be eked out drop by drop over the season as needed (“too artificial”, Clouet tells me), they irrigate extensively over the winter to ensure the soils are replenished fully between seasons (as well as help protect ungrafted vines against phylloxera), then – on a plot by plot basis – when the vines are starting to suffer, they give the vines around 40mm of water (still via drip irrigation), over 24-48 hours, replicating a day or two of steady rainfall.  They’ve reduced the height of the canopy (the engine of the vine for sugar production), while using trees, cover crops and minimal leaf-pulling to avoid sunburn. They’ve started pruning each vine according to its vigour, and are now picking significantly earlier – as much as two months earlier than 15 years ago. With this detail in the vineyard, the challenge is simply to guide the fruit through the winery: “No mistakes is enough in the cellar,” says Clouet.  In some ways, the wine echoes Cheval Blanc. While the Saint-Emilion property blends Cabernet Franc and Merlot, Cheval des Andes focuses on Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon – the Malbec bringing freshness and silkiness that complements the backbone of powerful Cabernet. And the Cheval Blanc style, one of restraint and precision, shines through in recent vintages of the wine – and especially the soon-to-be-released 2021. As Clouet tells me, “Our vision is absolutely delicacy, freshness, balance, ageing potential, complexity.” Unlike Cheval Blanc, however, which needs 10 years in bottle to start even hinting at its potential, Cheval des Andes offers an immediacy – something that Clouet is clear doesn’t inhibit its ability to last; the 2021, for example, can be drunk now, but will evolve over the next 25 years at least, he tells me.  Even the association with the Cheval Blanc name doesn’t make Cheval des Andes an easy sell to fine wine lovers; but that, says Clouet, is part of what makes it fun – a challenge for the team to be pushed. Even better, his team gets the chance to learn and make wine not just once a year, but twice, as well as gaining additional insight on how Cheval Blanc might adapt to climate change. But Cheval des Andes isn’t just an intellectual exercise (that is merely an added bonus), Clouet firmly believes in the potential of this site – something they’re now finally beginning to realise. Browse all current Cheval des Andes listings or read more Editorial 

For 25 years, Cheval Blanc – one of Saint-Emilion’s leading names – has been crafting wine in Argentina. We sat down with Pierre-Olivier Clouet to find out more about the project today, and why the 2021 vintage is the most exciting to date

Technical Director Pierre-Olivier Clouet on the start of a new chapter at Cheval des Andes, the Argentinian wine project from Saint-Emilion’s Cheval Blanc

Turning the page at Cheval des Andes

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Not for export

Transitioning from the world of fine cashmere to viticulture might not seem an obvious move – and yet, for Brunello Cucinelli, wine is another arena to which he can bring new “dignity”.  Cucinelli is a man of humble origins, born in a small Umbrian village in 1953. His family were share-croppers but moved to the city in search of better employment, with his father taking a job at a cement factory. Cucinelli saw his father struggle to make a living, and do so with little respect from those around him – a battle which has defined his work and philosophy.  Despite training as a building surveyor, then studying engineering, Cucinelli ended up working as a showroom model for Ellesse in his early 20s while his girlfriend (and future wife) ran a small boutique. Inspired by this window into the fashion world and the brightly coloured clothes of Benetton, he decided to make a line of similarly vivid cashmere jumpers, launching in 1978, aged 25. Since then, the business has evolved – with muted, neutral tones replacing the lively colours that gave him his break. His clothes are defined by their understatement, the epitome of “quiet luxury”.  Today, the Brunello Cucinelli business is worth €6.3 billion. There is more to Brunello Cucinelli than fine fashion, however, with 20% of the personal profits channelled back into Cucinelli’s charitable foundation. He operates under a philosophy he defines as “humanistic capitalism”, wanting to offer his employees the respect his father didn’t receive and reclaim the value of crafts that might once have been deemed “blue collar”.  A huge part of this is his work in Solomeo, the village that he calls home (and where his wife, Federica, was born). The couple got married there in 1982, making it the company’s headquarters in 1985. Since then, Cucinelli has invested significantly in the tiny, hilltop hamlet, gradually restoring it, and adding his own cultural flourishes – a School of Arts & Crafts, Forum of the Arts, Aurelian Neohumanistic Academy, theatre, amphitheatre, library and more. Over the last 30 years, he has – working with architect Massimo de Vico – transformed the village.  Castello di Solomeo, the winery and vineyard, is the latest addition – but one that has been over a decade in the making. Michele Baiocco – who has been leading the project’s team since 2010 – met Cucinelli playing football. He’d been making wine in Perugia, and the two men met for dinner. Cucinelli asked him if he’d help him “give the agriculture world a new dignity”, and they decided to create a Bordeaux-inspired wine. Together they found the right site for a vineyard in Solomeo, and planted the first vines in 2011.  Cucinelli had always loved Bordeaux, but with Montalcino not too far away, and a wish to make something “typical” for the region, Sangiovese was an obvious addition. Extensive studies were undertaken to create a vineyard with the right soils and exposition. But – take a look at a picture of the vineyard, with its softly curving rows of vines that flow across the property – and it’s clear that this isn’t a standard vineyard.  “The vineyard is like a painting,” says superstar winemaking consultant Riccardo Cotarella, who has been working with the team, especially on the blending process, since the 2018 vintage (the first commercial release). It is “an artist’s way to plant vines”, he explains – one that doesn’t make it any easier to work. Cucinelli’s inspiration, however, was a renaissance garden, and the fact that it forces everything to be done by hand is key to the project, emphasising the craftsmanship of making wine, as well as making a beautiful place for the team to work.   The philosophy in the vineyard is driven by “reason and good sense”, with no chemical pesticides or fertilizer, using grass cover and cover crops. It’s a complex site – with five hectares, spread across four different soil types (more clay rich, more marl, sandier and more calcareous) and divided between four varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Sangiovese).  Each of the 12 different blocks is vinified separately, something which they feel is key to terroir expression. They only make one wine from the site, and – as Cotarella says – “Working with Brunello [Cucinelli] always means the best quality.” Careful vineyard work is key, and the team has been reducing the production per plant, to focus the vines, encouraging complexity and concentration. Just like Cucinelli’s clothes, this is a wine intended to last.  While Cotarella consults, Pietro Grelloni is the full-time winemaker dedicated to Castello di Solomeo, working alongside Baiocco. Grelloni was born locally and worked with Baiocco, but had travelled the world making wine before returning to Perugia, when Baiocco asked if he’d like to join the Cucinelli project in 2017, just in time for the vintage. It’s clearly a special project to be involved in, but – for Grelloni – it’s the long-term view that sets it apart. “We take care about the year, but we also have to take care of the future,” he says – explaining how it is not just about the vintage that will be harvested this year, but in 100 years’ time. As Cotarella says, “It’s a very special wine, with a very special philosophy.”  Castello di Solomeo is exclusively available from FINE+RARE. The second vintage, 2019, is set to be released this week.

Read anything about Brunello Cucinelli and “dignity” is a word that comes up time and again, woven into the very fabric of the empire he has built. As the fashion icon releases the second vintage of Castello di Solomeo, we explore the philosophy behind the project 

Exploring the cashmere king Brunello Cucinelli’s Umbrian wine project, Castello di Solomeo, and the philosophy that defines it

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