Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another of the producer's single-site sparkling wines from a single vintage, the 2020 Clark Road Vineyard is named for the road that gives access to its vineyards, which in turn was named for the family that once tended the apples that grew there. This is the inaugural release. Blending 76.8% Pinot Noir and 23.2% Chardonnay, it was partially fermented in 10% oak cask, the rest in stainless steel. Offering pretty toasted almond aromas, it is a light, well-balanced, and creamy sparkling wine made with a small percentage of reserve wine from 2017 and 2018 that has a refreshing mouthfeel and length. Dosage is 5 grams per liter.
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Wine Enthusiast
This bottling is 76.3% Pinot Noir and 23.2% Chardonnay and sees some barrel fermentation. It shows fresh, laser intensity, with aromas of peach, red candy apple and baker's yeast on the nose. The midpalate offers concentrated mandarin orange, cotton candy, raspberry-rhubarb, racy acidity and a dry supple finish. Decant these bubbles for aeration. Yes, bubbles can be decanted—especially those with complexity. Pair with steamed Manila clams with white wine and garlic.
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Decanter
A dry year that was warmer than typical, this wine shows so much depth with a pastry crust and wonderfully ripe fruit marked by bruised apples. Pinot is what makes the vintages here, according to winemaker Arnaud Weyrich. The Clark Road wine was kept on lees for 32 months; it was the first single vineyard wine from the Roederer Estate. This site was selected given its proximity to the ‘Deep End’, which provides more proximity to the Pacific Ocean, which cools faster and warms up more slowly. There is an austerity to this wine.
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James Suckling
This comes from a new set of small-block wines from Roederer Estate showcasing individual vineyard sites that have proven distinctive in the bigger blends over the years. It's fresh, toasty and vivid in brioche, lemon zest and toasted baguette flavors over vivid minerals and zingy acidity. Very precise, linear and focused. Drink now or hold.
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Vinous
Pinot Noir plays the leading role in the 2020 Sparkling Wine Clark Road Vineyard. Deep, layered and resonant in the glass, the 2020 caresses the palate with the essence of cherry eau de vie, plum and exotic white flowers. All of the malolactic fermentation was blocked. It's another compelling effort from Roederer Estate. Dosage is 6 grams per liter.
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Wine Spectator
Refined and handsomely structured, with elegantly layered strawberry and apple flavors that are laced with notes of spiced nuts and brioche, finishing with lift. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now. 575 cases made.
Founded in 1982, Roederer Estate is nestled in Mendocino County’s fog-shrouded, Anderson Valley. As the California property of Champagne Louis Roederer, Roederer Estate builds upon a centuries-old tradition of fine winemaking. Roederer's unique winemaking style is based on two elements: complete ownership of its vineyards and the addition of oak-aged reserve wines to each year's blend or cuvee to create complex, dry and harmonious sparkling wines.
The crisp, fresh and rich flavors of Roederer Estate sparkling wines reflect the cool Anderson Valley that is home to their family-owned estate's 600 acres of vineyards. This protected valley in Northern California provides the ideal ripening conditions for their 100% estate-grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. The blending team is comprised of the winemakers from the California property as well as from Champagne Louis Roederer, ensuring that Roederer Estate remains the most French of the California sparklers.
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.
Surrounded by redwood forests and often blanketed in chilly, ocean fog, the Anderson Valley is one of California’s most picturesque appellations. During the growing season, moist, cool, late afternoon air flows in from the Pacific Ocean along the Navarro River and over the valley's golden, oak-studded hills. High and low temperatures can vary as much as 40 or 50 degrees within a single day, allowing for slow and gentle ripening of grapes, which will in turn create elegantly balanced wines.
The Anderson Valley is best known for Pinot Noir made in a range of styles from delicate and floral to powerful and concentrated. Chardonnay also shines here, and both varieties are often utilized for the production of some of California’s best traditional method sparkling wines. The region also draws inspiration from Alsace and produces excellent Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.