Louis Roederer et Philippe Starck Brut Nature London Launch

ROEDERER x STARCK,
DIAGONAL CREATIVITY:
FROM IDEA TO CHAMPAGNE,
FROM CHAMPAGNE TO ART

Officially launched last week in Paris, Thursday 10th October saw the London launch of the Louis Roederer and Philippe Starck Brut Nature 2012, as well as the presentation of their new cuvée; the Brut Nature Rosé 2012. The launch was held in the iconic Life Room of the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

This creative collaboration between French creator Philippe Starck  and Frédéric Rouzaud and Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon of Louis Roederer is now in its third vintage.  The project, which began more than 10 years ago as an abstract conversation between the three, hinged on the vision provided by Starck of a champagne that is “honest, minimal, diagonal, modern”.  This concept was given momentum and life by Rouzaud and made a reality thanks to Lécaillon’s intimate understanding of the Maison’s vineyards as well as his skill as a winemaker.

In the words of Frédéric Rouzaud “from the 2006 vintage, the key word of this co-creation that is Brut Nature, was the movement which is born from the meeting of beings, ideas, words.  That of life.  With this third vintage, and the advent of rosé, it is now also the movement of a story, a story of filiation and fidelity”.

The champagne is drawn exclusively from Roederer’s ten hectare biodynamic vineyard in Cumières and is a field blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier.  In a departure from their usual micro-vinification, the grapes are co-harvested, co-pressed and co-fermented in the manner of their fore-fathers.  The result is a pure and crystalline champagne that pulses with energy.

Paying homage to the creative partnership, graduates and current students from the Royal Academy Schools were challenged to respond to the champagne; its flavour, philosophy and terroir through art.  The thirteen shortlisted works of art were on display at the London launch as guests enjoyed the creation that inspired the artists.   A panel of judges (listed below) met earlier in the day with the daunting task of selecting the winning piece.

Maison Louis Roederer is delighted to announce the interpretation prize has been awarded to Sofía Clausse for her elegant entry Cycles.  Chairman of the Judges and Curator of the Royal Academy Schools, Eliza Bonham Carter said “Sofía is no stranger to interpretation with a practice born from ongoing investigation into language and process. In Cycles Sofía has effortlessly captured the thought, care, and craftsmanship required to produce a sophisticated champagne.  I am so pleased that we also found a way to acknowledge Clara Hastrup’s and Olu Ogunnaike’s entries, which both provoked much discussion amongst the judges.”

Champagne Louis Roederer enjoys a long history of supporting young up and coming artists, largely through their Roederer Foundation in France.  This competition held for the Royal Academy Schools students in honour of the Brut Nature launch was another opportunity to shine a light on exciting and talented artists in the early stages of their career.

Judges:

Eliza Bonham Carter        Curator and Head of Royal Academy Schools
Rebecca Salter RA            Keeper of the Royal Academy
Philippe Starck                  Creator
Frédéric Rouzaud             CEO, Louis Roederer
Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon    Chef de Cave, Louis Roederer
Louisa Buck                      The Art Newspaper
Emma Redmayne             Publishing Director House and Garden/World of Interiors

The Brut Nature 2012 and Brut Nature Rosé 2012 are available by the glass exclusively at the Beaufort Bar at the Savoy for a month, and in retail at Harrods RRP £90.

Giovanni Mazzei introduces Siepi’s 25th Anniversary

Siepi dates back to just under 600 years ago, when the lands of Siepi and Fonterutoli were inherited by the Mazzei family in 1435. A document in the family archives found at the Fonterutoli helm lists Siepi among the assets belonging to Madonna Esmeralda Mazzei describing it as “a piece of land adjacent to the house, with olive trees, vines and oaks…”, making it unquestionably one of the oldest recorded vineyards in Italy.

Giovanni Mazzei, 25th generation of Marchesi Mazzei, comments on Siepi and its 25th Anniversary:
“Siepi, one of the consistently highest scoring wines of our region, is an outstanding wine testifying to our family’s long-lived bond with this 6ha vineyard. We look ahead to the future with the same determination as our ancestors who have been tending this land with love and respect for almost six centuries. Siepi has always been a model farm managed with an innovative vision of a non-invasive farming approach and constant care in preserving the area’s delicate hydrogeological balance. Today, we still manage this single vineyard with the same respect tought by previous generations making sure that we hand it down intact to our children.

All Mazzei vineyards are farmed with sustainable practices including no use of herbicides, application of green manure (mix of cereals and herbs) to promote soil life while adding complexity to the ecosystem. We only apply organic fertilization consisting of biological waste turned into compost (branches, stems, grapes, olive pulp). In Siepi, we use the green manure in a mulching form; instead of hashing the herbs, we break them into pieces forming a mulching mat to avoid excessive soil transpiration, balance humidity and control  water uptake by the soil and reduce erosion.”

 

“A dense and rich red with lots of fruit and polished tannins. Full and structured with lots of flesh. But this is fresh at the same time.”, 94-95 points James Suckling

 

Siepi vineyard’s location is unique. It is ideally located on a plateau that enjoys long sunhours throughout the day surrounded by an oak forest creating the perfect, protected microclimate marked with major diurnal differences ranging from 12.5 to 19.8°C.
Marchesi Mazzei was one of the first families in Chianti Classico to have the foresight to plant Merlot as the ideal grape to complement Sangiovese in the early 1980s. Siepi was chosen to host this experiment because of the particular composition of its soil; calcareous and marl schist mixed with clay.

To mark Siepi’s 25th Anniversary, the family created a special, limited edition bottle for collecors with the classic colours of Siepi: the intense blue of Saniovese and the summer sky and the warm brown of Merlot and the ploughed land along the vineyards.

The wine spends 18 months in French barriques in the 15m deep, humidity self-regulating Mazzei cellar guaranteed by 5 natural water streams flowing through the naked rock walls. The hand-wrapped bottles will be ready for delivery in October 2019 and we are delighted to offer you a small parcel of this collectable wine.

Contact Effi Tsournava or your Sales Manager to find out more.

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