Highlights: Champagne Louis Roederer Collection 244 MV
You have to love Roederer. Of all the Champagne houses, they are the ones making the coolest moves at the moment. For everything above non-vintage level, they are a grower: they farm 135 hectares organically and biodynamically in the most thoughtful of ways. Then they made the very smart move (already done by Krug, and more latterly by Lanson) of numbering each non-vintage release. This is very clever: it adds geek factor (you can see what went into each wine) but keeps it non-vintage so reserve wines can be employed, and there’s no reason to re-sell the wine or change wine lists each time.
And then there’s also Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, who is super cool as a chef du cave. So this is Collection 244, and it’s based on 2019 vintage, which makes up 54% of the blend, 5% of which comes from large-format oak. Component 2 (10% of the blend) is reserve wines from large oak, from 2012-2018. Then component 3 is a perpetural reserve started in 2012 aged in stainless steel, and this is 36% of the base wine blend. This wine was shown today at the Marks & Spencer press tasting: they are selling it for £55.
Champagne Louis Roederer Collection 244 MV France
Juicy and fine, and nicely complex. Lemony and bright with real purity to the fruit, which is quite vivid, with some nice mandarin complexity and fine toasty hints. Such balance and length here, with a precise finish. Really good. 93/100
