Introducing Louis Roederer Collection 242
Our favourite 'grand marque' Champagne house is back, with their new 'multi-vintage' cuvee, Louis Roederer 'Brut Collection' 242, which we offer here in bond.
Roederer's leading non-vintage cuvée since the 1980s was their 'Brut Premier', which we were great fans of and we were surprised and a little sad last year to hear it was being replaced by 'Collection'. However, having tasted Collection, we can completely see the intention and are very pleased to add it to our list.
Roederer's longstanding cellar-master Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon pointed out that Brut Premier was created to deal with the exigencies of vintage variation in champagne, balancing less ripe years with reserve wines.
Brut Collection, by contrast, is a response to the warmer vintages of recent years which offer an abundance of ripeness but which need careful handling to preserve freshness and elegance. To achieve this, Brut Collection is sourced predominantly from Roederer's own vineyards and from those of their closest partners, with soils on the best chalk soils, which they refer to as their 'coeur de terroirs'.
Brut Collection '242' is the first release of this new cuvée, 242 being the number of releases since Roederer was founded in 1776. 242 is based predominantly on the 2017 vintage (56%) with 34% of reserve wines and 10% foudre-aged wines. We saw these reserves when we visited a few years ago, held in a number of large wooden foudre and stainless steel vats.
The result is a delight to taste (we re-tasted it just this morning). It's surprisingly easy to discern why this is a 'multi-vintage' rather than a non-vintage and Galloni puts it well when he says that it tastes more like a wine from the Roederer stable, with more similarities to their vintage, blanc de blancs and Cristal than the old 'Brut Prem' ever managed. We think you will find the same, but the best way is to taste it for yourself!
Please let us know if you would like to order.
£210 per case of six bottles in bond
Offered in bond, available for delivery in September
Producer Profile
Champagne Louis Roederer, Reims
Founded in 1776, Roederer became one of the great names of Champagne under Louis Roederer, who inherited the estate in 1833. Part of his approach was to acquire vineyards in the grands and premiers crus classified villages, at a time when most houses bought in the majority of their grapes. This is why today, Roederer, along with houses like Bollinger, have a relatively high proportion of their vineyards under their own ownership, with a consequent effect on the quality of the raw ingredients - the grapes.
In the last decade, the house has renewed this focus, converting on a massive scale to organic and biodynamic viticulture, using minimal spraying and techniques like horse-drawn ploughing in between vine rows on their 240 hectare estate. Cellar Master Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon is one of the leading lights of modern champagne production.We have certainly noticed the impact on quality, from the Brut up to the sought-after Cristal, created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia.
Roederer remains independently owned, with the Rouzaud family firmly in charge. They have also added a list of benchmark estates from around the world to their portfolio, including Domaines Ott in Provence, Ramos Pinto in the Douro and the jewel in the crown, Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in Bordeaux.
| SPARKLING | 2000 | 1 bottle | Louis Roederer - Brut Vintage | Magnum | £260 per bottle | Louis Roederer Brut Vintage 2000 / 1 bottle / Magnum £260 per bottle |
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| SPARKLING | 2009 | 4 bottles | Louis Roederer - Blanc de Blancs Brut | 75cl | £75 per bottle | Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs Brut 2009 / 4 bottles / 75cl £75 per bottle |
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| SPARKLING | 2010 | 1 case | Louis Roederer - Blanc de Blancs Brut | 75cl | £360 per case of 6 | Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs Brut 2010 / 1 case / 75cl £360 per case of 6 |
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| SPARKLING | 2013 | 2 cases | Louis Roederer - Cristal Rosé | 75cl | £1,080 per case of 3 | Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé 2013 / 2 cases / 75cl £1,080 per case of 3 |
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| SPARKLING | 2014 | 2 cases | Louis Roederer - Brut Vintage | 75cl | £320 per case of 6 | Louis Roederer Brut Vintage 2014 / 2 cases / 75cl £320 per case of 6 |
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| SPARKLING | 2015 | 1 case | Louis Roederer - Cristal | 75cl | £1,120 per case of 6 | Louis Roederer Cristal 2015 / 1 case / 75cl £1,120 per case of 6 |
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| SPARKLING | NV | Louis Roederer - Collection 244 | 75cl | £230 per case of 6 | Louis Roederer Collection 244 NV / / 75cl £230 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"The NV Collection 244 is gorgeous. Bright and focused, with a lovely cut, the 244 is immediately captivating. Dried pear, chamomile, herbs, mint and crushed rocks abound. Based on the 2019 vintage with 36% perpetual reserve wines from vintages 2012-2018, this vibrant, wonderfully crystalline Champagne impresses from beginning to end. Saline notes extend the finish effortlessly. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. 93 points" Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com------"A pale silver/straw hue, the NV Champagne Collection 244 has 2019 as its base, with 42% Chardonnay, 26% Meunier, and the rest Pinot Noir. Expressive on opening, it’s fresh with a beautiful floral perfume and reveals pure notes of red berries, cherry, fresh peach, and a lovely fresh bit of primary fruit. It has a fine and refined mousse, and the palate is supple and inviting. Medium-bodied and elegant, with a ripe core, it has a delicate salinity to balance its freshness and has an attractive, lightly tannic feel while retaining a refined and precise profile. Approachable and fantastic now, it will be exciting to see how this develops over time. It continues to be an exceptional value. Drink 2024-2036. They have dialed the dosage back by a gram from the previous edition to 7 grams per liter of dosage. 93 points" Jebdunnuck.com------"Based on the 2019 vintage, Roederer's NV Brut Collection 244 is the finest release of the house's reimagined non-vintage Brut to date. Offering up aromas of pear, peach and nectarine mingled with notions of white flowers, beeswax, freshly baked bread and buttery pastry, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and fleshy, with a pretty pinpoint mousse, racy acids and a long, chalky finish. The quality of the base vintage really shines through. 93+ points" William Kelley, RobertParker.com------"The first impression is as invigorating as a sea breeze. I love the interplay of mirabelle, grapefruit and lychee fruit with minty freshness and waxiness from lees contact. And all this is welded to a beautifully proportioned palate with plenty of structure, the acidity bright and the mousse animating. Very salty finish that pulls you back for more. A cuvee of 41% chardonnay, 33% pinot noir and 26% pinot meunier. Of these, 15% fermented in oak and 85% in stainless steel. The final blend contained 36% reserve perpetual and 10% reserve wines of the 2012 - 2018 vintage from oak. The dosage is 7 g/l. Drink or hold. 94 points" jamessuckling.com |
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