Hi my name is constantin baum i’m a Master of wine and today i’m going to Explore the differences between vintages And different maturity levels of the Same wine but i did not pick any wine For this experiment instead i got two of The best vintages of one of the most Expensive champagnes in the world ruler Cristal and i’m going to taste them here With you and you know what it’s still The morning so i would call this a Pretty good start into the day [Music] The producer of this one is louis ruder A family owned estate special about Ruler is that they own 240 hectares of Their own vineyards supplying 70 of the Grapes they need in order to make Champagne this is different to most of The bigger houses that buy in most of Their fruit this allows ruler a lot more Control in the vineyard fifty percent of The vineyards are certified organic and They do biodynamics as well since 2012 All of the grapes that are being sourced For crystal are one hundred percent Biodynamic castel is a winter champagne Which means that all of the grapes come From that specific year and that it Represents the quality of that vintage Most champagne is non-vintage and Vintage champagnes are generally the More expensive and more high quality Wines comparing the two wines is fairly
Easy as they were made more or less in The same way both wines are a quiver of 60 pinot noir and 40 chardonnay normally Crystal is famous for not doing any Malolactic conversion at all with the Exception of the 1988 vintage and the 2008 vintage where 20 of the wine Underwent malolactic conversion a Process that helps softening up the Acidity 20 of the 2008 vintage was Vinified in oak by 32 of the 2013 Vintage was unified in oak the disaster That determines the roundness or Sweetness level of the champagne was Eight grams per liter for both vintages The 2008 spent eight and a half years on The lease while the 2013 only spent Around 6 years on the lease the time on The lease generally indicates how creamy A champagne gets but this time also Influences the flavor of the champagne Generally notes of brioche and hazelnut Come through more and more while fruit Flavors go more and more to the Background so let’s talk about the Vintages vintage differences define the Style of the wine but the quality is Often more in the hands of the wine Maker a great winemaker can make a great Wine in a challenging year while a bad Wild maker just couldn’t but the vintage Character should really come through in A great wine and here we have two Champagnes from two really good vintages
The 2008 vintage started pretty cold and The summer was also cold so when grapes Started coming in in mid-september they Were quite acidic quite fresh which is Actually something you want for great Champagne robertparker.com rated this Vintage 99 points which is the highest Score they’ve ever given to any Champagne vintage in history and wine Spectator rated it 97 points and they Said the wines were vivid well Structured in a classic style with fine Textural finesse And potentially long lived 2013 started Really cold and flowering only took Place in july the summer was then pretty Hot and very dry and the harvest was the Latest on record since 1988 Robertparker.com rated this vintage 95 Points which is at the high end of Outstanding and wine spectator gave it 94 points so you could say that both Vintages were great but the critics had A clear favorite the 2008 vintage let’s Focus on prices now the price of both Wines is pretty high but they are not That different i went on wine searcher And checked and the 2008 vintage Currently retails for roughly 350 us Dollars including taxes while the 2013 Vintage retails for 300 us dollars Without taxes so yeah this is a real Luxury product but you have to take into Consideration that ruler has spent
Centuries perfecting their craft and That they have invested heavily into Their brand and in the end people are Prepared to pay for it but the price Also depends on the scores of the Critics and these two wines have Received great scores venus rated the 2008 vintage 99 points which is as close As it gets to perfection and Robotpaker.com gave it 98 points for the 2013 vintage venus gave 98 points and Robertparker.com gave it 97 plus That sounds pretty good i’m excited to See whether the wines are actually that Good before i jump into the tasting if You like this video so far then please Like it down here and subscribe to my Channel if you haven’t done so already This really supports this channel this Community so thanks for your support Even for me this is a pretty amazing Tasting and i’m getting out my big Champagne glasses i often get questions With regards to glasses and i always put The glass that i’m using in the video Into the description so just check down In the description if you want to know Which glass i’m drinking from but now Let’s pop some corks because packaging Really stands out and that is because it Still pays tribute to its history Because that was first made for the tsar Of russia and he asked for a clear Bottle because he was scared to get
Poisoned and he also didn’t want a pun So he wanted a flat bottom bottle Because he was scared that people might Hide bombs in there so this is what the Bottle still looks like what they added Was this yellow wrapping paper in order To protect the wine from uv rays there Are no major differences in packaging Between the 2008 and the 2013 vintage They pretty much look exactly the same Unwrapping this very much feels like Christmas So you open expensive champagne just in The same way as you would open any other Champagne you take off the graph or you Open the aircraft and then you Turn the bottle you have to make sure That the bottle is nice and cold Otherwise it might explode in your hand You’ve seen that before on this channel So don’t be That kind of person And yeah that’s it there’s not a real Difference between the two corks but you Can see that the 2008 cork is much more Compressed which is typical because it’s The older wine the longer a cork spends In the bottle the more compressed it Gets and the more time it needs to Decompress with many high-end ones you Can find the vintage printed on the cork Which is good because sometimes during Maturation the label gets damaged and You will still be able to identify the
Vintage once you pop the cork It also makes it more difficult to Counterfeit a wine or a champagne so Generally have a look for the vintage Once you pop your corks i know it’s a Bit weird but these corks and the Aircraft that is holding the cork in the Bottle feel really high quality they’re Quite heavy They feel really good I’m a nerd so i’m going to start with The 2008 vintage and i’m going to put The 2013 vintage Next to it so this is 2008 And here comes 2013. I would say there’s not a big difference In terms of color they look kind of the Same maybe the 2008 is slightly darker Than the 2013 but it’s not really Pronounced i would say the co2 looks a Little bit more pronounced in the 2008 So you can see more bubbles coming up Faster but it’s just a very small very Slight difference but now let’s talk About the important stuff what does the Champagne smell and taste like the 2008 Is absolutely beautiful it made of ripe Apple quince there’s also a little bit Of pear coming through you got those Flavors of brioche roasted hazelnuts but They are not super pronounced there’s Lots of fruit here Even though the wine spent a long time
On the lease there’s still very precise Very clean very clear fruit flavors Coming through the nose was beautiful But the texture is just Absolutely amazing it’s mouth-watering The acidity is fresh and vibrant there’s Quite a lot of it but there’s also quite A lot of texture surrounding it so it’s Super light without feeling superficial It’s quite Dense concentrated And Yeah just grippy but it has this Beautiful freshness and elegance at the Same time Wow the 2013 smells of lemon zest it’s Fresher more vibrant there’s not as much Depth there even though it’s quite deep As well on the palette it’s super fresh Vibrant the acidities Like a laser beam as well But there’s not as much surrounding it So it doesn’t have the same Yeah the same concentration the same Balance on the pallet don’t get me wrong Though the 2013 is still an amazing Champagne It’s just Slightly out shown by the 2008. the 2008 Actually also has creamier finer co2 Bubbles that are slightly more refined a Little rounder a little more velvety i Decided to give the ones a little bit More time so i let them sit in the glass
For a few hours in order to make sure That they can show their full potential This also works with sparkling wine not Just with big red wines so let’s see What they taste like now my verdict is That both wines actually show really Well and are absolutely great both wines Also show the topicity of the vintage They are fresh and vibrant but they also Show the hand of the wine maker so Because of the long time on the lease The 2008 actually feels quite creamy and The 2013 because it’s been on the lease For a bit shorter It’s more fresh more vibrant and more Acidic i would say that both wines are Absolutely outstanding world-class Examples of their type but i would say That one is slightly better than the Other i think the 2013 is super fresh And vibrant but it lacks the elegance And balance of the 2008. The 2008 is really really complete so i Have very little that i find here that i Don’t like i would rate the 2013 97 points so that is a very high score But it’s not perfect the 2008 i would Actually rate 100 points and i realized That this is the highest score i’ve ever Given on this channel it’s perfect There’s nothing that is missing in this Wine it’s just absolutely beautiful Sensational champagne so thank you for Watching if you like this video then
Please like it down here subscribe to my Channel if you haven’t done so already My question of the day is which is your Favorite vintage champagne comment down Below and i’m looking forward to seeing Which champagnes you like I’m definitely going to stay thirsty With those two babies here on my table And i hope you stay thirsty as well I’ll see you again soon Bye [Music] You