Champagne Louis Roederer was established in 1776 and is now run by the 7th generation of the family, Frédéric Rouzaud. With over 240 hectares of vineyards located exclusively in Grands and Premiers Crus villages, Champagne Louis Roederer is self-sufficient for approximately 70% of their non-vintage production and 100% of their vintage champagnes.
Pioneers in sustainable farming, Louis Roederer use organic practices in all their vineyards, and are certified organic in 115 ha, with the remainder of the estate in conversion. The whole estate uses biodynamic practices and is inspired by the concepts of permaculture. Working hand in hand with nature, respecting terroir and the pursuit of taste underpins everything they do.
With the creation of Collection, Louis Roederer is writing a new chapter in the story of Brut Premier through its reinvention. This multi-vintage wine reveals the power of blending, expressed year after year, demonstrating the full extent of its genius. With Collection, Louis Roederer combines its longstanding pursuit of excellence with a new spirit of freedom to achieve its constant objective: to create the best possible champagne with each blend. The Collection number, which represents the number of blends since the foundation of the Louis Roederer Champagne House in 1776, will allow champagne lovers, like collectors, to choose their champagne according to their preferred degree of youth or maturity.
Champagne Louis Roederer owns just over 240 hectares of vineyard located in the Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and Côte des Blancs. Each vineyard is situated in the finest site, of which 90% are Grand Cru and Premier Cru classified.
For Collection, Louis Roederer has taken the fine art of plot selection even further. From the heart of the Champagne terroir and with a focus on sustainable growing, it has selected the vineyard plots that are perfectly suited to the identity of the new wine and the most appropriate for the year’s specific blend.
Each bunch of grapes that goes into Collection is carefully selected both upstream – in the vineyards – and downstream, at the time of harvesting and pressing, in order to retain only excellence.
There are three dedicated, equally contributing vineyards from which the Collection 243 fruit is sourced:
“La Rivière” vineyards
“La Montagne” vineyards
“La Côte” vineyards
Grapes grown on Louis Roederer’s own estates are complemented by grapes from our partner winegrowers plots selected from the “Heart of the Terroir”.
The creation of Collection is also influenced by the introduction of a “Perpetual Reserve”, which began with the 2012 vintage and has been enriched each year with wines from the latest harvest stored in large capacity oxygen-free stainless-steel vats. Over the years, this Perpetual Reserve will be further enriched with new wines from each new harvest to create a template of infinite complexity, freshness and energy.
In parallel, Roederer has greatly increased the proportion of oak-aged reserve wines contained in the blends. These wines from previous years and young plots on the Cristal estate, aged in large French oak vats (foudres), are a Louis Roederer hallmark. They provide a perfect point of balance with the freshness created by the Perpetual Reserve, giving the wine greater intensity and honing its salinity.
244th blend: Perpetual Reserve: 36% (2012/2013/2014/2015/2016/2017/2018)
Reserve wines aged in oak: 10% (2012/2013/2014/2015/2016/2017/2018)
2019 vintage: 54% (with 5% vinified in wood)
Malolactic Fermentation: 35%
Dosage: 7g/l
The dry, continental year of 2019 broke all previous temperature records in a succession of scorching heatwaves. Moderate yields and magnificent maturity resulted in wines that were dense and fresh.
A deep, broad bouquet of ripe fruit (wild peaches, William pears) combined with citrus (lemons, blood oranges). The iodised and smoky notes, associated with the autolysis and the aging in wood, add aromatic freshness. Then come notes of chalk and a hint of reduction, suggesting that the wine will be concentrated and powerful.
The entry to the palate is delicious showing a rich and robust texture. We have a very juicy and concentrated sensation as if we were biting into a ripe fruit. The substance is caressingly soft, coating the palate but is then immediately lightened by the delicate bubbles. The length is created by a lovely backbone of chalky freshness. The wine is both delectably rich, with a slightly roasted character, and super fresh thanks to a salivating finish. The smoky notes then take over to underpin a very flavoursome finish.
Collection 244 marks the return of the texture of the Meunier from the Marne and the Montagne, which adds a lovely richness to the well-structured and saline Pinot noir and Chardonnay grapes
Champagne, France
41% Chardonnay
33% Pinot noir
26% Meunier
Cork
12.5%
7g/l
