Champagne Louis Roederer Collection 243 NV (Magnum)

Description

Founded in 1776, and property of the same family since 1819, Champagne Louis Roederer is today one of the last major Champagne houses to be an independent family affair. The annual production of its wines (Collection, Carte Blanche, Brut Vintage, Rosé Vintage, Blanc de Blancs, Cristal, Cristal Rosé) represents just over three million bottles, distributed to 100 countries worldwide. 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. The house uses 100% of its own grapes for vintage styles, and 60% for the Collection blend. Such a high proportion of estate-grown grapes is unusual in Champagne, ensuring superior quality at all stages from grape to glass. 5% of the wines are matured in oak casks with weekly batonnage. 10% of the reserve wines are matured in casks with partial malolactic fermentation.

2018, the base vintage for Collection 243, was a warm, continental and truly unique vintage.  Summer set many new records in terms of heat, drought and sunshine levels.  The Pinot noirs displayed a luxurious texture whilst the Chardonnays were dense and saline where harvested at perfect ripeness and the Meuniers were intensely fruity.

The bouquet is open and rich yet also wonderfully fresh.  It offers an explosion of ripe, delicate fruit with intense notes of mirabelle plum from the Pinot noir, complemented by sweet lemon meringue pie and delicate notes of jasmine from the Chardonnay. The nose opens up to reveal autolytic characters and evolves towards smoky, roasted notes and freshly baked pastries.

The palate is deep and dense with a big, well-structured backbone. The texture is simply mesmerising with its fleshy mouthfeel from the Pinot noir that coats the palate before giving way to an incredible saline freshness with a pleasant hint of bitterness. This wine combines the strength, intensity and power of the delectably ripe Pinot noirs which are balanced to perfection by the chalky freshness and density from the Chardonnay which forms the majority of the blend.

Collection has all its warmth and generosity thanks to the perfect ripeness of the fruit harvested in the 2018 vintage, yet it is the freshness, energy and complexity of the ‘Réserve Perpétuelle’ created in 2012, as well as the texture imparted by the oak ageing, that extend and elongate the wines’ body resulting in unrivalled finesse and persistence.