Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Complex nose of restrained strawberries and lemon zest, with macerated flowers and shortbread. Full body and plenty of concentration, with pinprick mousse, long and chewy, integrated acidity and amazing length. Pinot noir and chardonnay.
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Wine Enthusiast
Produced from the first vineyard acquired by Roederer in 1841, this Champagne shows the beginnings of maturity as well as ripe, fresh apple fruit flavors. An aroma of toast mingled with kiwi fruits gives a finely balanced wine now ready to drink.
Editors' Choice -
Wine Spectator
A seamless Champagne, deftly knitting flavors of crushed black raspberry, tangerine peel, chalk and Marcona almond with the fine china–like acidity and satiny mousse. The graceful balance gives this an effortless feel, but there's intensity and drive to this well-tailored version. Long and fragrant on the finish, with hints of ground ginger, blood orange zest and mineral. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2040.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Louis Roederer's 2016 Brut Vintage is derived primarily from Pinot Noir from Verzy and incorporates 32% Chardonnay from Chouilly, though this is about to change with the 2019 release, when it will become a pure Verzy, giving stronger identity to the village. The soil here is rich in clay, and the slopes face east, explains Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon. Disgorged in June 2024 with seven grams per liter dosage, it wafts from the glass with a bouquet of juicy pear, red berries, hazelnut and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and textural, it has a slightly richer core of fruit compared to the more delicate and citrusy Blanc de Blancs and will richly reward a few additional years under cork. Rating: 93+
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Vinous
The 2016 Vintage is terrific. Rich, creamy and super-expressive, the 2016 is an absolute delight. All this fruit is from Roederer’s La Montagne estate, with Pinot Noir very much driving the blend. That comes through in a Champagne of notable textural resonance and breadth that grows with air. Hints of apricot, plum, spice and dried flowers caress the palate, all framed by a discreet touch of oak and an extra kick of texture from a few lots (5%) that underwent malolactic fermentation. This is a superb edition of the Vintage. The blend is 68% Pinot Noir and 32% Chardonnay. Here, the richness of the warm summer very much comes through. Dosage is 7 grams per liter.
Uncompromising Quality
Champagne Louis Roederer was founded in 1776 in Reims, France and is one of the rare family owned companies, which is still managed by the Roederer family. In 1833, Louis Roederer inherited the company from his uncle and renamed the company under his namesake. Under his leadership, the company rapidly grew while remaining true to their philosophy of uncompromising quality. Today, the company is under the helm of Jean-Claude Rouzaud and his son Frédéric who continue to place quality before quantity.
First-Rate Vineyards
Champagne Louis Roederer is one of the only French champagne producers to own nearly 75 percent of the grapes in the most desirable vineyards in the Champagne. The property is located on 450 acres in the finest villages of Montagne de Reims, Côtes des Blancs, and Valleé de la Marne. Each region is selected to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with the elegance needed for perfectly balanced champagne. The Louis Roederer vineyards rate an average 98 percent based on France’s statutory 100-point classification scale.
The reserve wine is then tasted and graded by a team of Roederer specialists. They choose as many as 40 different wines from several lots for the blend. For the final touch, the wine is then added in order to enhance the cuvee and guarantee consistency while retaining the champagne's characteristics.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’