Champagne Louis RoedererWines from Champagne, France
"A la recherche de l'oeuvre" (In pursuit of the ultimate) Since its founding in 1776, the House of Champagne Louis Roederer has been synonymous with the world's great Champagnes. The Louis Roederer experience is defined first and foremost by the art of champagne making. Such artistry can only be attained when it begins with this kind of uncompromising commitment to the individual vines, where the essence of the final product begins to develop. With over 70% of the grapes coming from its own estate vineyards, and the largest percentage of vineyard ownership of any major Champagne house, Louis Roederer is proud to have such careful control over the quality of its grapes. To enhance the winemaking process and ensure consistent quality and complex flavors, every good vintage year some of the very best wines are aged in large oak casks located in Roederer's reserve wine cellar. To learn more about the true artistry of the Louis Roederer champagnes, please visit their website. Click on "Official Website" on the left hand column. Backgrounder
A FAMILY OWNED COMPANYFounded in 1776, Champagne Louis Roederer continues as one of the very rare Champagne houses to remain firmly in the hands of the family. For two centuries, six successive generations have been responsible for building a reputation for quality and continuity.FIRST-RATE VINEYARDSThis reputation is built on Champagne Louis Roederer’s vineyards: 200 hectares in the finest areas of Champagne, where the plots rank between 95% and 100% on the official Champagne classification scale. These vineyards provide two thirds of the company’s needs, leading some to suggest Louis Roederer could be considered an ‘estate’ champagne.LOUIS ROEDERER TODAYToday, Frédéric Rouzaud has succeeded his father Jean-Claude at the head of the company, securing the future of Champagne Louis Roederer as an independent family House.He continues the company’s philosophy of quality without compromise, adding Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande to Roederer’s portfolio of estates in January 2007. Wines from Roederer-owned estates in Provence (Domaines Ott), California (Roederer Estate), Bordeaux (Château de Pez and Château Haut Beauséjour) and Portugal (Ramos Pinto) are now earning world-wide acclaim in their own right, and sit proudly in the Louis Roederer portfolio alongside the fine Champagnes for which the House is renowned. WineMaker: Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon
Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon grew up in Reims surrounded by the world of Champagne, and developed a passion for it at a very young age. He was naturally drawn to agriculture and oenology to study vine growing and oenology at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie of Montpellier, where he obtained a diploma in June 1989. At the same time, he obtained the National Diploma of Oenology. Lecaillon joined Champagne Louis Roederer in August 1989, at which time he was one of the key people involved in selecting the site for Roederer Estate, the Louis Roederer owned winery in Californias Anderson Valley. After a year in California, he returned to Champagne to survey Roederer's 1990 harvest. In October of 1990, Lecaillon left for Australia where he followed the development of a subsidiary company of Champagne Louis Roederer until December 1993. In 1994, Lecaillon returned to Reims where he has an ever-increasing role in the making of the Louis Roederer Champagnes. Simultaneously, he ensures the success and development of the Roederer-owned Bordeaux properties, Château de Pez, Château Haut-Beauséjour and Domaines Ott. Methode ChampenoiseThe charmat method is a fairly new method of producing sparkling wines, dating back less than 100 years. The more traditional method is that of conducting the second fermentation in the individual bottles in which the wine is later sold.Champagne has been made in this way for approximately 300 years and, according to French law, can be made in no other way. Many other French sparkling wines are made in the same way, as are the best sparkling wines from Spain, California, and other countries. The technique of conducting the second fermentation in the bottle is called the classic or traditional method in Europe; in the U.S., it's called the champagne method or méthode champenoise. Bottle fermentation (or, more correctly, second fermentation in the bottle) is an elaborate process in which every single bottle becomes an individual fermentation tank, so to speak. This process requires a minimum of one year and usually takes three years or more. Invariably, sparkling wines made in this way are more expensive than those made by tank fermentation. The elements of bottle fermentation are: • Each bottle is filled with a mixture of base wine and a sugar-and-yeast solution, closed securely, and laid to rest in a cool, dark cellar. • Inside each bottle, the second fermentation occurs, producing carbon dioxide and leaving its fermentation lees inside the bottle. • As the bottles continue to lie in the cellar, the wine gradually undergoes changes through interaction of the lees and the wine. • Eventually - nine months to several years after the second fermentation - the bottles are put through a process of shaking and turning so that the solid lees fall to the neck of each upside-down bottle. • The lees are flash frozen in the neck of each bottle and expelled from each bottle as a frozen plug, leaving clear sparkling wine behind. • A sweetening solution (called a dosage) is added to adjust the flavor of the wine, and the bottles are corked and labeled for sale. THE BEAUTY OF BLENDING The classic method as practiced in Champagne involves several steps that occur before the second fermentation. For example, the pressing to extract the juice for the first fermentation must be conducted with meticulous care to prevent the grapeskins' bitter flavors — and their color, in the case of black grapes — from passing into the juice. Another step crucially important to the quality of the sparkling wine is the production of the base wine for the second fermentation. Following the first fermentation, the wines of different grape varieties and different vineyards are kept separate. To create the base wine, or cuvée, the winemaker blends these separate wines in varying proportions, often adding some reserve wine (older wine purposely held back from previous vintages). From 100 to 200 different wines may go into a single base wine, each bringing its own special character to the blend. What's particularly tricky about blending the base wine - besides the sheer volume of components in the blend - is that the winemaker has to see into the future and create a blend not for its flavor today but for how it will taste in several years, after it has been transformed into a sparkling wine. The men and women who blend sparkling wines are the artists of the wine world. 2006 Harvest ReportA year full of contrasts, sure to produce some very fine wines...VINES AND WEATHER 2006Following a late spring characterized by fairly wet, cool conditions, bud burst occurred a week later than the 25-year average: this year, April 21st for the Chardonnay, April 25th for the Pinot Noir and April 26th for the Pinot Meunier. Growth got off to a difficult start due to unseasonably cool weather in May. Repeated thunderstorms accompanied by hail and heavy rain produced impressive mudslides in our Marne Valley vineyards. June brought warm, sunny weather, critical for good blossom development. Temperatures higher than average (18.5°C compared to 16.6°C) promoted excellent flowering, with no incidence of bud failure. With ideal conditions, the vines reached full flowering some 2-3 days earlier than the 25-year average for Champagne (19th June): this year, June 15th for the Chardonnay, June 17th for the Pinot Noir and June 18th for the Pinot Meunier. Warm sunny weather continued into July with some of the hottest weather for Champagne in living memory. Mean temperatures of 23.8°C (5°C above the 30-year seasonal average) set a new record for the entire month. Following the July heat wave, August brought a sharp drop in temperature (2- 3°C below the seasonal average) and was unusually wet for the time of year. The cold and rain nevertheless provided the vines with welcome relief from the torrid heat of July. Water shortages and ripening problems were avoided and the ripening cycle got off to a good start. September, always an eagerly-awaited month in Champagne, saw a miraculous return to warm, dry weather that favored final ripening. A constant breeze also helped to slow the spread of botrytis caused by the rain in late August. The pattern of rainfall was one of the key features of the 2006 vintage. Summer rains soon made up for the water shortages at the start of the growing season, with August alone registering 2-3 times the normal rainfall. Fortunately, since the wet weather came right at the end of the growing season, it had no diluting effect on the berries. RIPENESS AND HARVESTS 2006Optimum ripeness is one of the characteristics of the Louis Roederer style and depends on strict crop control, restricting yields throughout our vineyards to no more than 2kg per vine plant for the Chardonnay and 1.5kg for the Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Careful pruning is never more essential than in bumper years like 2006 when good ripening depends on reasonable crop levels. Much of the winegrower’s time will be taken up with green-harvesting using various techniques such as thinning, short pruning and bud removal. This served to accelerate ripening which in 2006, despite the late August rains, galloped ahead at the rate of 1.2-1.5 degrees per week depending on grape variety – exceptionally high by any standard. That said, the highly uneven rainfall in the summer months did lead to huge contrasts in ripening between sectors and between vineyards (by a ratio of 3:1) and even (depending on soil type) from one vineyard plot to another. Harvesting went ahead under ideal conditions, commencing on September 14th with the Chardonnays in the Côte des Blancs, followed by the Marne Valley Pinot Noir on September 15th, and then the Montagne de Reims Pinot Noir on September 18th. Picking continued for just 13 days in each of the three vineyards, providing employment for more than 500 pickers. The speed of this year’s harvests was due to the exceptional weight of the clusters, with ultimate success depending on two key operations: • Ripening assessment prior to harvesting, carefully monitoring the rate of maturation in each vineyard plot. This included tasting the grapes and testing them for sugar, acidity and in particular for malic acid content. • Sorting the grapes after harvesting (especially important this year) so as to remove any botrytised berries. On arrival at the Roederer winery, the average sugar level at harvest was more than 10.3 degrees, with mean acidity of 6.9 g/l. These levels were close to those recorded in 2002 and 1989, both outstandingly good years. Early tastings are highly promising, showing clean aroma, rich fruit and a finesse and balance rarely seen at this early stage. Even so, all three grape varieties retain their own distinctive personalities. An astonishing year 2006 – blending it is going to be a real pleasure! Current VintagesBlanc de Blancs 2004
Tasting Notes“Very shiny golden color, with green tints. Fine regular bubbles. Delicate, young, spring-like bouquet, focusing on floral aromas (hawthorn), fresh white fruit (pear, fruit amandine) and citrus (candied lemon) with a few hints of roasted almonds. On the palate there is first of all a soft, full, creamy sensation which moves on quickly to a strong, lively, almost ‘chalky’ taste — the hallmark of great Mesnil, Avize and Cramant chardonnays. In the middle, it perfectly incorporates the full ripeness of fruit (white peach), meatiness, wininess and freshness, in a well-balanced whole which is seductive and sensually gentle. The long-lasting taste is emphasized by the acidity, which although present is completely enveloped by the density and sweetness of the wine. This is a blanc de blancs which is made to last, but which already has a well-established seductiveness!” -- Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon.Vintage SummaryThis was a classic, generous year, offering both quantity and quality! Whilst not achieving the perfection of the ideal 2002 vintage, 2004 can be characterized as having the same type of climate: globally cool temperatures without any extremes throughout the season; a significant lack of rain (roughly 30 percent down) during the vegetative cycle in spite of a particularly cool, wet August; fortunately, this was followed by a dry, sunny September, perfecting the ripening of the grapes in a fairly spectacular way. At Louis Roederer, thanks to very hard work in our vineyards, on September 20 the grapes had reached a very good “vintage” balance, combining freshness and ripeness in spite of slightly high yields at times.WinemakingFifteen to 20 percent of the wines are aged in oak barrels with weekly batonnage. There is no malolactic fermentation. The Blanc de Blancs cuvée is drawn at low pressure for a rounder, fuller sparkle. It is matured for an average of five years in cellars and also left for six months after disgorging to perfect its maturity. The dosage is fine-tuned for each vintage to between 8 and 10 g/l.Technical Information
Brut Premier Non Vintage
Tasting NotesBrut Premier is a pale golden color with delicate, persistent beading. Its rich yet subtle bouquet has hints of hawthorn, almonds and toast. It has a clean attack and creamy structure. The inclusion of reserve wines gives the complexity and roundness characteristic of Louis Roederer Champagnes. This champagne strikes a perfect balance between the vinosity and fruitiness of the Pinot Noir and the finesse of the Chardonnay.Brut Premier can be served for many occasions. It is ideal as an aperitif, thanks to its freshness and finesse, and as a splendid accompaniment to fine cuisine, thanks to its structure. WinemakingThe blend is composed of harvests from four different years, including three different years from the Louis Roederer reserve wines cellar. The reserve wines mature in oak casks for an average of two to five years. The percentage of reserve wines included in the Brut Premier blend varies from 6 percent to 10 percent.The 'liqueur de dosage' is prepared with the greatest of care from a selected blend of eight to 10 of the very best crus from the Louis Roederer vineyard and then left to age in oak casks. Technical Information
Brut Rosé 2004
WINEMAKER NOTES “A wine to be tasted with all five senses! Intense, explosive, bewitching aromas of flowers and fresh fruit completed with toasted, caramel notes. The pinot noir emerges in all its creamy, full-flavored richness. It caresses and literally enfolds the full vivacity and rich structure of the grape variety without ever constricting or dominating. The bubble is light and airy… The finesse remains and provides a perfect accompaniment to this precise, elegant and uncompromising stylistic composition that the Roederer establishment produces each year from its Cumières vines!” – Jean Baptiste Lécaillon, Head Winemaker & Executive Vice President of Production The structure and richness of Louis Roederer Brut Rosé make it a perfect accompaniment to main courses, magnificently complementing fish such as salmon; meat such as lamb, veal, guinea fowl and even pheasant; and soft cheeses such as Chaource and Brillat-Savarin. It can also be served with red fruit based deserts that are less sweet, such as a red fruit zabaglione or a red fruit gratin. WINEMAKING A great Rosé champagne should be elaborated from very ripe grapes, which is sometimes difficult to obtain in the climate of the Champagne region. That is why Louis Roederer decided to invest in one of the most precocious vineyards of the Champagne region, in Cumières, where the light of the steep, south-facing clay and limestone slopes face is accented by the Marne River, producing high phenolic maturity. In selected plots, Louis Roederer applies precision viticulture adapted to the elaboration of a saignée rosé. Twenty percent of the wines are vinified in oak barrels with weekly batonnage. No malolactic fermentation occurs. To create Rosé champagnes, Louis Roederer still uses the saignée method after cold maceration that can last five to eight days in the liquid phase. Dosage of between 11 and 12 g/l is adapted to each vintage. Technical Information
Brut Vintage 2003
Winemaker NotesThe Brut Vintage 2003 features a consistent stream of delicate bubbles and yellow tones shimmering with the light amber highlights that are typical of the Pinot Noir. It is very intense and explosive on the nose – deliciously developed even at this early stage. A blend of nutty, spicy, ripe fruit aromas, layered with notes of biscuits and a suggestion of chocolate and roasted coffee beans.On the palate it is generous, full and warm, with all the volume to be expected of such a ripe, dry vintage but delicately supported by vinous, well-knit texture. The mid-palate boasts a balanced freshness, with just a hint of bitterness that makes for a long, thoroughbred finish – the perfect foil for a characteristically opulent vintage! All in all, this is a mellow, classy and terrifically vinous Champagne. This is a wine made for pairing with food. It has sufficient richness and character to support a wide range of imaginative food and champagne combinations. To enjoy the wine at its best, serve at a temperature ranging from 10° to 12 °C (50° to 54°F). Technical Information
Carte Blanche Non Vintage
We recommend this wine as an accompaniment to sweet desserts: custards, desserts made with honey or almond paste. WinemakingThe blend is composed of harvests from four different years, including three different years from our reserve wine cellar. Our reserve wines mature in oak casks for an average of two to five years.Technical Information
Cristal 2002
Winemaker NotesCristal is produced using only the finest vintages from crus guaranteed to originate from the Louis Roederer vineyard. All the exceptional characteristics of the 2002 vintage have literally been captured in this Cristal 2002, which is generous and lush, revealing perfect balance between concentration and finesse, freshness and vinosity, intensity and refinement. In three words: proud, rich and luxurious.Tasting NotesCristal 2002 is brilliant yellow with light amber highlights and has a beautiful mousse with fine cordon of persistent and regular bubbles. The nose is intense and delicate, revealing a clean and well-blended mixture of flavors of honey, cocoa, lightly toasted hazelnuts, candied citrus fruit. A savory explosion of ripe fruit on the attack, the wine reveals red fruit, white chocolate, caramel and Danish pastry, typical of Cristal. Its silky, concentrated texture relies on its intense, powerful and vinous structure, but maintains refinement. The palate builds up to attain a delicious sensation of well-blended harmony of flavors. A fresh finish with a hint of bitterness makes it almost crunchy.Serve at a temperature of 46°F to 50°F. The strength and finesse of Cristal are perfectly suited to delicate foods. It is a flattering accompaniment to caviar, fish and shellfish such as scallops, John Dory, lobster and crayfish. Vintage SummaryThis was a characteristically dry, warm year with outbreaks of heavy rain. The vintage was marked by the outstanding quality of the grapes, registering a degree of alcohol content rarely achieved in Champagne. Highlights included an early-maturing year brought about by dry soil conditions that accelerated ripening; work in the vineyards to improve the quality of the yield; targeted manuring at the start of the season; pruning to restrict yields; crown suckering of fruit-bearing shoots to remove excess clusters; green harvesting over a total 20 ha area; sunny conditions throughout the month of September.These conditions allowed us to start harvesting on 12 September in the Côte des Blancs, September 13 in the Marne Valley, and 16 September in the Montagne de Reims. Harvesting in each vineyard sector lasted 13 days. From the beginning of the harvest, grapes registered 11-12.2º alcohol with a consistent acidity level of 7 g/l. Average yield of 12.280 kg/ha, overall productivity targets. The quality of the grapes was remarkable throughout the vineyard. Technical Information
Cristal Rosé 2002
WINEMAKER NOTES “A salmon pink hue, with radiant highlights and incredible youth. A regular, refined and lively effervescence. An intense, rich, bewitching bouquet of red fruit and citrus zest associated with more complex notes redolent of cedar and spring sap. The aromas evolve gently in the glass evolving from dried fruits, fresh almonds and frangipane, to notes of Tarte Tatin, oven-baked apples and caramel. In tastings, the wine is soft and silky on the palate with a marvelous harmony of flavor and concentration of fruit. The attack is fruity and crisp. Finesse and fruit combine to create a full palate that melts in the mouth, giving way to candied citrus and dried fruits. The exceptional characteristics of the 2002 vintage have been literally captured in this generous epicurean Cristal Rosé 2002, which reveals a perfect equilibrium between concentration and finesse, richness and freshness, intensity and refinement.” – Jean Baptiste Lécaillon, Head Winemaker & Executive Vice President of Production Clearly imbued with the Cristal style, this wine has purity, fruit, finesse and incomparable harmony. In three words: proud, rich, and luxurious. VINTAGE SUMMARY It was an extraordinary year that brought together all the factors that make for a great Champagne year: constant warm temperatures without excessive heat or sun preceded by a markedly mild winter; a reduction in rainfall (about 20 percent) during the growth cycle; cool nights and a cold dry north-easterly wind from August to September. These exceptionally favorable conditions combined meant that the grapes matured perfectly and their flavors were nicely concentrated. Harvesting started 12 September for the chardonnays with an average sugar concentration superior to 11% natural alcohol. Technical Information
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