Winemaker Notes
Blend: 77.6% Pinot Noir, 22.4% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A single-vineyard Pinot Noir-driven wine like a Grower Champagne, the 2021 Clark Road Vineyard is defined more by the site’s proximity to the ocean and altitude from the valley floor than its soils, a place where the producer felt they could do something relatively repeatable every year (although it took a decade to find). About 11 miles from the ocean, the grapes hang over an extended growing season taking in the cool air and morning fog. At 77.6% Pinot Noir, 22.4% Chardonnay, and 5.5 grams per liter dosage, the Chardonnay brings a lightness of acidity, a light, ethereal quality met by the Pinot’s crunch of red apple and texture. Moderately rich, it’s medium-bodied and has a creaminess balanced by plenty of acidity, with a bold finish. Disgorged December 2024. Drink now and over the next 10-12 years.
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James Suckling
Pretty aromas of grapefruit, mint, eucalyptus and white nectarines. The palate is bright, with flavors of green mangoes, citrus and red berries. Vibrant acidity and rich bubbles. A powerful yet nuanced wine that is a joy to drink. 77.6% pinot noir and 22.4% chardonnay. Disgorged December 2024. 5.5 g/L dosage. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Tiny, robust bubbles with aromas of Fuji apple, blood orange, and crystallized ginger, good acidity and minerality, firm, creamy key lime mousse, vibrating with green apple, white nectarine, and mouthwatering finish.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and gracefully structured, with lilting flavors of strawberry, pear, yeast roll and roasted nuts that linger on the lush finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
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.