Collection 243 - Louis Roederer

Grape varieties: 42 % Chardonnay, 40 % Pinot Noir, 18 % Meunier

Tasting notes

Brilliant golden yellow with a warm shimmer. Fine, dynamic perlage with a very persistent string of bubbles.

The bouquet is immediately obvious, at once vinous and beautifully fresh. A palette of ripe, fine fruits, including yellow fruits (mirabelle, Pinot Noir) and sweet citrus fruits (tarte au citron) as well as delicate notes of white flowers (jasmine, Chardonnay). After a few minutes, autolysis aromas reveal themselves in the form of smoky and pastry notes.

On the palate, densely concentrated, deep, expressive and well-structured with a beguiling texture of fleshy Pinot Noir from the Montagne site, which shapes the mouthfeel and brings an immense saline freshness with a hint of bitterness. A powerful, aromatic wine in which the ripe grapes of the Pinot Noir are balanced by the chalky freshness and density of the Chardonnays that dominate this wine composition. This vintage also reflects the warm, full-bodied character of the Collection, thanks to the fruit fully ripened at the 2018 harvest. The freshness, energy and complexity of the Réserve Perpétuelle, created in 2012, and the Réserves Foudres, with their woody tannins, which lend structure, provide length and give the wine finesse and persistence.

Vintage

2018 was an exceptional, continental, great year: the summer of 2018 broke many historic records in terms of heat, drought and sunshine. The result is Pinots Noirs with a wonderful texture, dense and saline Chardonnays - if harvested ripe enough -, and exceedingly fruity Meuniers. The grape harvest took place from 27 August to 8 September.