Louis Roederer Cristal 1985

Was 1985 a good year in Champagne?

A published vintage chart rates Champagne 1985 5 out of 5 stars. All three varieties reached high ripeness. Beautifully balanced and intense with great length, and still improving decades on.

A severe winter and spring frosts destroyed close to a tenth of the vineyard, worst in the Montagne de Reims, but the cold left the survivors healthy. A tiny 6,827 kg/ha picked from 30 September.

What the critics scored the 1985

4 critic scores from 4 reviewers, on the 100-point scale from 93/100 to 95/100 and one on the 20-point scale, 19.5/20. Score: 95.7 out of 100.

The dated reviews run from 1994 to 2018, young and mature bottles alike.

By score the 1985 ranks 24th of 39 scored Louis Roederer Cristal vintages, 0.2 points below their review-weighted 95.9.

The 1980s by score: 1981 94.0, 1982 96.0, 1983 93.5, 1985 95.7, 1986 91.5, 1988 94.8 and 1989 96.0.

The 1985 Cristal is powerful and resonant on the palate, with just the earliest hints of oxidative notes starting to appear. The 1985 may not have quite the layers, focus or pedigree of the very best years, but it more than makes up for that with its inviting, generous personality. There is so much to like, including the wine’s soft curves and racy feel. The 1985 is an especially opulent Cristal, with attractive smoky and torrefaction overtones, and exceptional balance. “In 1985, we had a severe frost that lowered yields dramatically,” Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon recounted. “It was a vintage to handle carefully. From what the old-timers told me, because I was not here, set was so bad that the percentage of stems relative to fruit was quite high. Our crew works hard to cut as close as possible, especially in challenging vintages. But I imagine some stems and underripe berries made it into the tanks, resulting in somewhat green, bitter flavors at pressing. In the end though, those qualities have been pretty good for aging. Ultimately, Champagne is a battle between ripeness and greenness. If you are too ripe, you have rot, and if you aren’t ripe enough, you are green. You need to find the optimal window for picking.”

Very rich biscuity nose. Quite stunning combination of elegance and weight. Lovely stage in its evolution. The first wine of the tasting that seems perfectly ready to drink. Very complete and flattering. No harsh acidity or astringence. Well mannered, though certainly not the biggest of the Cristal vintages.

which was still young, a touch tangy, stony and minerally. I was a bit queasy from the previous night and the travel, so I wasn.t exactly ready for the Champagne, which was fine and long yet lacking weight on the palate. It was tart and light on its feet, with a touch of seltzer and not as expansive on the front palate as I would like

What drinkers rate it

93.3 out of 100 from 41 drinker ratings, the most recent in October 2025.

That is 2.4 points below the critics' score.

Drinker rank: 31st of 44. The most-rated vintage has 559 ratings.

5 written notes, August 2022 to October 2025, rating it 92 to 97.

1985 Horizontal Bordeaux (+ Champagne) (Melee): Mature but still with plenty of yellow apple fruit and a touch of toffee and toast. Juicy acidity and a good balance. It has aged very nicely but it still feels fairly young and fresh.

Lovely aged Cristal. Still had some bubbles. Huge Madeira notes, lots of butterscotch, and a racing acidity. So seemingly sweet that I’d take this as my dessert wine over the 83 d’yquem we had later. This is so complex you’ll probably just want one or two pours, so drink with friends!

I had low hopes for this one as I suspected the bottle was not well-stored. Almost an orange color, suggesting oxidation, but still had some bubbles and drank well. This was my first experience with Cristal so unfortunately I don't have a reference of what it's supposed to be like.

Blind, side by side with 88A perfect bottle, so fresh, so elegant, only a touch of nougat, still the lemon aromas are dominating. Difficult to detect as a Cristal. I guessed CdM 83. The 88 was not a perfect bottle. Never had such a good 1985 of this wine. 96-97

One of the freshest cleanest 85 Cristal I've had. Pale yellow and ton of bubbles. amazing!

What it has traded at

One trade month on record, June 2018: 1 sale at £301 a bottle.

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

3 other vintages also last traded in 2018: 1 cheaper, 1 dearer.

When to drink the 1985

1994 to 2028: 34 years, opening 9 years after the harvest.

Open at our 2026 snapshot, with 2 years to run.

Window length rank, longest first: 11th of 33.

The 1985 against its neighbours

The 1985 beside its 4 nearest recorded years.

Here, by score, it places 2nd of 5.