Champagne Louis Roederer - Collection 242 Brut

Founded in Reims in 1776, Roederer is still owned by the same family, represented today by Frédéric Rouzaud. In recent years, the estate has been a pioneer, being the first to gradually convert its vast 242-hectare vineyard to organic and biodynamic farming (126 hectares). Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, an eminent cellar master and agronomist, never ceases to impress with his intimate knowledge of every plot on the estate and the decisions he makes. “Cristal,” an exceptional prestige cuvée, comes exclusively from vines growing on chalky soils. The vintage wines and the core of the non-vintage brut—now called “Collection,” with a number indicating the base year of the blend—come from soils that are still calcareous but more clay-rich. The wines intended for the longest aging do not undergo malolactic fermentation, which requires harvesting the grapes at a high level of ripeness, often close to 11°. The current wines are certainly the most remarkable ever produced, including the astonishing red and white Coteaux-Champenois, along with the highly exclusive Camille cuvées.

A house founded in Reims in 1776. Louis Roederer became its owner in 1833, expanded the business, and acquired vineyards. In the 1870s, the house—which produced 2.5 million bottles—had Russia as its main client; there, Tsar Alexander II asked Louis Roederer to create a prestigious champagne for him: the famous Cristal cuvée was launched in 1876. With a vineyard of 240 hectares (comprising Premier Cru and Grand Cru plots) accounting for two-thirds of its supply, the company is still run by the founders’ descendants. The most recent, Frédéric Rouzaud, now heads a group that owns Deutz Champagnes and numerous prestigious wines, from the Médoc to Provence, and from Portugal to California.

“Roederer’s Brut Premier was created in the 1980s to prove to consumers that we could deliver consistent quality with a blend that compensated for vintages that were less than perfectly ripe,” explains Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon. “We blended with the goal of achieving ripeness. The concept behind the Brut Collection is the opposite: we seek freshness and embrace uniqueness, which we highlight by listing the year of each blend. This project has been in the works since 2012, when Lecaillon set aside 21,000 liters of wine to create a Perpetual Reserve aged in large tanks without malolactic fermentation. The sourcing process has also evolved: fewer musts come from cooperatives, and only vineyards cultivated without the use of herbicides are included in the blend. A dedicated team oversees the entire process, visiting each grower three times a year. And winemaking is done plot by plot to yield the maximum number of components for the blend. Collection 242 is based on the 2017 vintage (56%), supplemented by 34% reserve wines from the Réserve Perpétuelle established in 2012 and 10% reserve wines aged in large oak casks.

We are immediately captivated by the precision and vibrancy of the aromas: raspberry, yuzu, pepper… The nose is subtly enhanced by a patina resulting from aging in large oak casks. A superb example of champagne—refreshing, creamy, and full of nuanced flavors. With beautiful vinous depth, it is a very accomplished brut. A true benchmark. And finally, in a blind tasting, we recognized—based on its style—Roederer’s Collection 242 brut, based on the 2017 vintage.

Here is one of Champagne’s finest examples. This family-owned estate is built on a vineyard comprising 420 plots, predominantly planted with Pinot Noir, 70% of which are classified as Grand Cru. Viticulture is a true priority here, particularly through the transition to biodynamic farming. Soil management practices are becoming widespread. Only a vineyard as exceptional as this can account for the unique level of harmony and concentration found in such large volumes. It is no coincidence that the cellar master, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, is not only an oenologist but also an agronomist—just like Jean-Claude Rouzaud, who built the current empire of Roederer’s great international vineyards. In a wise move, he entrusted the reins of the group early on to his son, Frédéric Rouzaud, the current president. Here, malolactic fermentation is only partial and varies (between 25% and 50%). The wines are aged on their lees in tanks and oak casks to give them body.