I am sitting in Stockholm airport waiting for my connection to Moscow. I have never been to the great city and I am incredibly excited to experience it all.
Moscow is a vibrant wine market, and I am visiting friends at Simple, a major wine merchant in Russia, to learn more about it all. For years, particularly in Bordeaux, I have heard how significant the market is for fine wines. Affluent Russians love to drink great wines, and a dynamic wine and food scene in restaurants is also catching on in Moscow. Italian wine is widely consumed as well and almost more revered than French wine.
We all know the historical significance of fine wine drinking in Russia under the Tsars. Roederer apparently created the prestige cuvee Champagne for Tsar Alexander who requested a clear bottle for his fizz because he was afraid an assassin might place a bomb in it. This sounds more like folklore than anything else. But I like the story.
I can say for sure that the 2002 Cristal is one of the best vintages in years for the prestige cuvee. I have drunk numerous bottles over six months. It’s superb. Here is my tasting note: Super fine texture to this wine. It is very dense and powerful with loads of dried fruits, white pepper and papaya. It’s full and long. There is so much power and energy to this. The finish shows ginger, apple pie and bread dough, which was on the nose as well. This is one to age for five or six more years to show its true greatness. 97 points
Stay tuned for regular blogs from Moscow…
