The short answer
The most recent recorded sale of Louis Roederer Cristal 2018 in our data was £163 a bottle in July 2026.
Cristal 2018 is the Louis Roederer vintage released in 2026, the year Cristal turned 150 and the house turned 250. Cristal was first made in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia, and Roederer was founded in Reims in 1776. The 2018 growing season was very hot and dry, with an abundant and healthy harvest, so the house looked for freshness. Cristal is normally drawn from at most 45 estate plots; for 2018 it drew on 57, adding Chardonnay plots usually kept for the house Blanc de Blancs and some younger Pinot Noir. The blend is 57 per cent Pinot Noir and 43 per cent Chardonnay. The wine was first poured at the anniversary celebration in Reims, with a New York tasting set for 3 October 2026. In this site's dataset it holds a critic average of 98.0.
Why Cristal 2018 is the anniversary release
Louis Roederer marks two anniversaries in 2026. The house, founded in Reims in 1776, turns 250, and Cristal, created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia, turns 150. Sur la pointe, in a report on the celebration in Reims published in September 2026, describes the premiere of the 2018 Cristal on the same evening the house unveiled a new Late Release series, opening with the 2008.
Vinous lists the new cristal 2018 and the 2008 Late Release Cristal among the wines chef de cave Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon was to present at its anniversary tasting in New York on 3 October 2026. The Finest Bubble, the London Champagne merchant, offered the 2018 before release with stock due from late September, and describes the 2026 release as marking Cristal's 150th anniversary.
A hot, generous year and how the blend was changed
The Finest Bubble's release notes describe 2018 as a very hot and dry year that was also generous and healthy: an unusually wet winter, a mild and stormy spring, then a summer hotter, drier and sunnier than the record set in 2003, and an abundant harvest of grapes in near-perfect condition. Sur la pointe also calls the season hot and dry.
A ripe, abundant year is a problem for a wine built on tension, and the response was to widen the selection. According to The Finest Bubble, Cristal is normally drawn from at most 45 Grand Cru plots, and the 2018 came from 57. The additions were Chardonnay plots usually reserved for the house Blanc de Blancs and Pinot Noir from vines a little younger than Cristal normally uses, chosen for energy. The critic note in our own dataset gives the same account: the parcel count widened from 45 to 57, the oak share of fermentation came down, the best Chardonnay lots went into Cristal, and in 2018 the house made no Blanc de Blancs at all. That note gives the dosage as seven grams per litre.
The result is a blend of 57 per cent Pinot Noir and 43 per cent Chardonnay, a figure Sur la pointe and The Finest Bubble both report, with the Chardonnay share a little higher than usual.
What the critics scored the 2018
Our dataset holds 1 published review for the 2018, with a critic average of 98.0. The review describes a Cristal unlike earlier vintages in flavour, with orchard fruit, dried flowers, spice, chalk and herbs, and compares the energy of the wine to the 2014 while calling its flavour profile completely different.
For context, here are the neighbouring vintages on the same extract. The 2016 averages 97.4, the 2015 96.4 and the 2014 97.6. The 2012 averages 97.6 and the 2008 99.2. Each figure comes from the same dated snapshot, so the years can be set side by side, and the full table is on the Cristal vintage chart.
What the 2018 costs
It last traded at £163 a bottle in July 2026. An asking price is what a merchant publishes and a trade is what a bottle actually changed hands for, so the two are shown separately and never blended. A case price divided by its pack size is closer to a trade price than to a shelf price, which is why the basis is printed beside the figure whenever it applies.
For comparison, merchants ask £256 a bottle (including duty and VAT where stated) for the 2016, £279 a bottle for the 2015 and £265 a bottle (including duty and VAT where stated) for the 2014. Older stock is asked at £378 a bottle for the 2008 and £377 a bottle (including duty and VAT where stated) for the 2002.
Buying and keeping it
Cristal is sold in its clear glass bottle wrapped in protective cellophane, because untinted glass does not shield the wine from light. Keep the wrap on, store the bottle lying down somewhere dark at a steady cellar temperature, and it will hold for many years. Our dataset records no drinking window for the 2018 yet, so we do not print one.
Buy from merchants who can show where the stock has been since release. A bottle bought in bond and kept there, or shipped once from the importer, carries less risk than one that has changed hands several times, and the difference shows most in a wine meant to age.
Common questions
When was Cristal 2018 released?
It was first poured at Louis Roederer's 250th anniversary celebration in Reims in 2026, with a New York tasting set for 3 October 2026 and UK merchant stock from late September 2026.
What is the blend of Cristal 2018?
57 per cent Pinot Noir and 43 per cent Chardonnay, drawn from 57 plots rather than the usual maximum of 45, including Chardonnay normally kept for the house Blanc de Blancs.
What score did Cristal 2018 get?
In our dataset the 2018 holds a critic average of 98.0 from 1 published review.
Why is 2026 an anniversary for Cristal?
Cristal was created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia, so 2026 is its 150th year. It is also the 250th year of Louis Roederer, founded in 1776.
Sources
- The Finest Bubble, Louis Roederer Cristal 2018 release notes, checked 2026-09-29
- Sur la pointe, 250 years of Champagne Louis Roederer (18 September 2026), checked 2026-09-29
- Vinous, Cristal en Magnum: Celebrating 150 Years, New York, 3 October 2026, checked 2026-09-29
By WineExperts. First published , last updated . Figures from our tracked merchant prices and recorded sales; text prepared with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed above.