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.
245th blend: Perpetual Reserve: 35% (2012/2013/2014/2015/2016/2017/2018, 2019)
Reserve wines aged in oak: 10% (2010/2013/2015/2017/2018/2019)
2020 vintage: 55%
Malolactic Fermentation: 22%
Dosage: 7g/l
The year 2020 followed a similar trajectory to that of 2019 with a mild and rainy winter followed by a dry summer with several heatwaves which, although less
extreme than in 2019, still had an impact on the vine. Fortunately, the weather was rather dull and a bit wet in June which gave us a welcome humid interlude between
two dry spells. Despite our impressions of relentless heat and sunshine, the temperatures and sunshine levels over the 2020 harvest period were actually relatively normal. These continental conditions, but with “normal ” annual averages, enabled the production of mature and well-balanced wines!
The harvests took place between 22 August and 11 September 2020
A bouquet of yellow fruits (nectarine) and ripe, concentrated citrus (lemon) complemented by sweet notes of petals, pollen, sugared almonds and wheat. We find an impressively ripe, complex and intense fruit which elevates the pure and intense bouquet interwoven with smoky overtones.
The palate is velvety, unctuous, rich and juicy. The bubbles have an almost saline character to them and coat the palate with a broad and concentrated texture. The wine reveals an exceptional balance between structure and a crisp, powdery, saline chalky freshness. Smoky and slightly oaky notes linger on a deliciously well-honed finish.
Champagne, France
41% Chardonnay
35% Pinot noir
24% Meunier
Cork
12.5%
7g/l
