Meet Vinotheque, Aged Cristal for Champagne Lovers Looking to Splurge This Holiday Season

Champagneis practically synonymous with a celebratory occasion like the holiday season. But though plenty ofexcellent lower priced champagnesexist, a handful of brands have become associated with throwing an especially extravagant holiday party—names like Veuve, Dom Perignon, and, of course, Cristal.

But those extravagant reputations don’t maintain themselves, meaning it never hurts to up the ante on your luxury persona. With that in mind,Louis Roedereris about to release the latest expression of its coveted Cristal Champagne – the first new Cristal offering since 1976 – just in time to up the ante on your New Year’s Eve. However, good luck on getting your hands on a bottle… or even finding out how much it costs.

To be fair, this Cristal Vinotheque line hasn’t just been thrown together on a whim. It’s literally over two decades in the making. The first releases of this “new” take on Cristal are Cristal Vinotheque 1995 and Cristal Vinotheque 1996 rose, and as their names imply, they’ve been aging for quite some time. Specifically, the 1995 spent 10 years on its lees, before spending an additional 10 years ageing in Roederer’s cellars after disgorgement,according to The Drinks Business.

As expected, this ultra-luxury Champagne is being sold in extremely limited quantities, but just how limited is still surprising: Only 400 bottles of the brut and a mere 200 of the rose will be released globally this year. To put that number in perspective, reportedly only about 48 bottles will be available in the entirety of the Champagne-loving United Kingdom.

Anyone hoping to score a bottle should look to only the finest of wine shops and restaurant/bars. As for the price, reportedly those details haven’t even been released yet. You know what they say: If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it. Though when they won’t even tell you the price, that’s a different situation entirely.