Louis Roederer Cristal 1978

Was 1978 a good year in Champagne?

A published vintage chart rates Champagne 1978 2 out of 5. Very few vintage wines were released, and the general verdict on those that were is poor. Not a year most houses declared.

Poor flowering and the incidence of rot cut the harvest to a very small crop.

What the critics scored the 1978

4 critic scores from 3 reviewers, on the 100-point scale from 92/100 to 97/100. Score: 93.2 out of 100.

The dated reviews run from 2008 to 2017, young and mature bottles alike.

By score the 1978 ranks 35th of 39 scored Louis Roederer Cristal vintages, 2.7 points below their review-weighted 95.9.

The 1970s by score: 1970 98.0, 1973 94.0, 1974 98.0, 1975 94.0, 1976 95.0, 1977 98.0, 1978 93.2 and 1979 97.3. The 1978 trails the decade.

The 1978 Cristal is another drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Ample, full-bodied and intense, the 1978 is endowed with magnificent depth and overall intensity in all of its dimensions. Apricot jam, candied orange peel, creme brulee, caramel and rosewater are some of the signatures, but it is the wine’s sheer power, baritone-like depth and exotic, almost tropical profile that are most impressive. It is easy to overlook the 1978 Cristal in this tasting, but it is a wine that deserves considerable attention. The 1978 Cristal is now fully mature, but it is nevertheless profoundly beautiful today. A late-ripening year, 1978 was marked by high disease pressure, low yields and October harvest. This is the best bottle of the 1978 I have ever tasted.

The 1978 Cristal was the most advanced of these wines. Sweet and unctuous at first, it lost steam in the glass fairly quickly.

Another pretty, mature Champagne, the 1978 Cristal is all about texture at this stage. Orange jam, honey and wild flowers are some of the notes that open up in the glass.

A 1978 Louis Roederer Cristal was a rare treat; it is a vintage that has mostly been consumed and not collected, but it held up well. It was much more mature than the '82, a sign of the '82s quality, and ready to go. There was still some light spritz here, and mature carob and caramel flavors. Rob called it 'clean,' although I found a bit of back alley water to it along with garden flavors.

What drinkers rate it

94.8 out of 100 from 6 drinker ratings, the most recent in September 2020.

That is 1.6 points above the critics' score.

Drinker rank: 16th of 44. The most-rated vintage has 559 ratings.

5 written notes, October 2011 to September 2020, rating it 94 to 98.

One of the best Cristals I have tasted. Just supple yet rounded, with sharp acidity and creamy finish. All dancing around on the palate. White fruit and spice. Very very balanced. 95-96

@ Restaurant Vineum in Rotterdam: Sweet fully mature nose displaying toffee, dried fruit and hints of sherry. On the palate no bubbles left but some strong acidity and freshness, changing in the glass into complex aged flavors with truffle, baked apple and toasted brioche. Impressive and a great treat!

Small tasting glass @ VINEUM during service, so a brief note. Amazing this 38 year old Champagne. Tasted twice, once directly from the bottle after opening and a very small glass at the end of the evening. This gained more complexity with time and air. Very special to get to taste this!

Mature and Maturing Bordeaux (Oslo): Mature smell, almost tropical fruit, apricots; vinous and very complex, a slight sweetness, yellow fruit, lemon-candy, caramel. A very good bottle.

Big surprise! Expectations weren't all that high for this bottle served alongside the mighty 1976. But this certainly held it's own with it's darker tones of walnuts, coffee, dried tomatoes and tobacco among the more usual lemon candy and white flowers.Hedonistic mouthfeel but still elegant. Impressive! Completely mature but not a hint of oxidation or other signs of heading down hill. Drink now or keep forever.

What it has traded at

3 trade months, April 2017 to March 2018, 4 sales. Median £466 to £253, down 46 per cent.

Cheapest sale £249 (March 2018), dearest £466 (April 2017).

That last sale is 8 years old: history, not a quote.

3 other vintages also last traded in 2018: 0 cheaper, 3 dearer.

When to drink the 1978

1990 to 2022: 32 years, opening 12 years after the harvest.

Closed 4 years before our 2026 snapshot, so provenance counts for more than price.

Window length rank, longest first: 13th of 33 (tied with 2013).

The 1978 against its neighbours

The 1978 beside its 4 nearest recorded years.

Here, by score, it places 5th of 5.