Cristal (wine)

A bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal (1993)

Cristal is the brand name of a Champagne produced by Louis Roederer. Cristal has a flat-bottomed clear, "crystal" bottle, anti-UV cellophane wrapper, and gold label. Widespread awareness of its high price has given the wine an image of exclusivity that, in turn, has elevated demand: it is considered a Veblen good.

History

Cristal was first created in 1867 for Alexander II of Russia, and is viewed by many as the first prestige cuvée.^[1] As the political situation in Russia at the time of his rule was unstable, the Tsar feared assassination. He ordered that champagne bottles for his Three Emperors Dinner be made clear, so that he could see the bubbles and also to prevent hiding a bomb within them, as could happen with a typical dark green bottle.^[2] Louis Roederer commissioned a Flemish glassmaker to create a clear lead crystal Champagne bottle with a flat bottom. The Champagne has since become known as "Cristal".^[3]

The wine was not commercially available until 1945.^[4] In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the brand became increasingly associated with rap and hip-hop culture, with several artists referencing the drink in song lyrics and as part of their public image.^[5][6] In an interview with The Economist in 2006, Louis Roederer managing director Frederic Rouzaud said he viewed the attention from rappers with "curiosity and serenity." Asked if he thought the association would harm the brand, he replied, "that's a good question, but what can we do? We can't forbid people from buying it. I'm sure Dom Pérignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business."^[7] Subsequent interpretations and reactions to these statements resulted in the brand's loss of position in hip-hop culture. Cristal went from being the rappers default to being discarded, an example of this was Jay-Z releasing a statement saying he would never 'drink Cristal or promote it in any way or serve it at any of my clubs' for what he felt was off hand, patronizing disrespect for the culture of hip hop.^[8][9][10]

Production

The 1974 vintage was the first release of a rosé Cristal.^[4] The grape composition is an approximately equal blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, while the rosé contains more Pinot Noir, and is coloured with red wine rather than Pinot Noir grape skins, the saignée method.^[1] The 2000 vintage is 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay, with a dosage of 10gm/ltr.^[4] The annual production of Cristal is 300,000 to 400,000 bottles.^[11]

See also

• Champagne in popular culture

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Kissack, Chris, thewinedoctor.com. "Roederer". http://www.thewinedoctor.com/champagne/roederer.shtml. 
2. ^ "Menus d'Hier: 04/06/1867". Menus d'Hier. http://menus.free.fr/index_fichiers/Page2511.htm. Retrieved 11 July 2011. "Il demanda à Roederer et à ses oenologues de concevoir un champagne dans une bouteille de cristal transparente qui laissait apercevoir la magnificence des bulles et la couleur dorée de ce breuvage d'exception. Par peur d'attentats ou que l'on dissimule sous la bouteille quelque explosif, il exigea que cette bouteille soit à fond plat." 
3. ^ J. Robinson (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Wine, Third Edition. Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 584–585. ISBN 0198609906.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Stevenson, Tom, Decanter (December 2007). "The Best A Man Can Get...."
5. ^ Ojumu, Akin (Sunday 8 September 2002). "Hip pop". The Observer (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2002/sep/08/foodanddrink.features5. Retrieved 2009-09-08. 
6. ^ Century, Douglas (2006-07-02). "Jay-Z puts a cap on Cristal". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/fashion/02cris.html/partner/rssnyt/. Retrieved 2009-09-08. 
7. ^ The Economist (May 8, 2006). "Bubbles and bling". http://www.economist.com/node/6905921. Retrieved 2010-10-27. 
8. ^ Woodard, Richard (June 16, 2006). "Rapper Jay Z boycotts "racist" Cristal". Decanter.com. http://www.decanter.com/news/86845.html. Retrieved 2009-09-08. 
9. ^ Steinberger, Mike, Slate.com (June 22, 2006). "The Cristal Boycott". http://www.slate.com/id/2144328. 
10. ^ Arnold, Ben, The Guardian (2006-06-16). "Jay-Z pours away the Cristal". http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1799123,00.html. 
11. ^ Marthinsen, Tom, Dagens Næringsliv (2008-04-28). "Superelegant kjendis-champagne" (in Norwegian). http://www.dn.no/vinguiden/article1390787.ece?WT.mc_id=dn.