Louis Roederer Champagne

Monday 11 January

Louis Roederer is a family-run champagne house. The current owners are direct descendants of Louis himself. They own plenty of their own vineyards with 70% of their production coming from vineyards they own themselves. None of the family-owned vineyards are Pinot Meunier. The wines are all Pinot Noir dominated and generally avoid malolactic fermentation.

They also own Champagne Deutz. As well as Champagne, they own well-regarded vineyards in other regions and countries. For example there is the Louis Roederer "Quartet" - a Californian sparkling wine, Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in Bordeaux and Domaines Ott in Provence.

However, tonight we focus just on Champagne Louis Roederer

1. Brut Premier
Ripe, slightly cooked apple and a hint of orange peel. High acid, but round texture. Surprisingly smooth apart from at the back of the throat where there is plenty of bite. More bread on the palate. Decent length without any bitterness on the finish. Very good entry level.

2. Vintage 2003
Many champagne houses didn't bother with a 2003 vintage. This was the super-hot year in France and the Champagnes which were made are generally not acidic enough. This is no exception and is clearly only made to satisfy the commercial demand for vintage Louis Roederer. The previous wine was higher quality, despite this one being significantly more expensive. Weird finish.

3. Cristal 2002
Their flagship wine and one which has become synonymous with bling. Very pale with very small bubbles. Intense fruit, and definite red fruit also. Great length, pleasant finish. Very fine and elegant.

4. Rose Vintage 2004
Prickly, sharp texture. Strawberry and raspberry on the palate. Bitter aftertaste. Made by a combination of the saignee and assemblage techniques. The PN is saignee and the Chardonnay is then blended in later. Quite good, but overpriced.

5. Carte Blanche Demi Sec
Grapey. As demi-sec goes this is good. Decent length, not too sweet or cloying. Surprisingly good. They claim that if this was drunk with dessert then it would taste as dry as the first wine.