Louis Roederer’s Masterful 2014 Vintage Champagne: Buy Some for Now and Some for the Cellar

I know I have been like a broken record recommending the 2014 vintage, but some things are worth repeating. After drinking a bottle of this great 2014 Louis Roederer Brut Champagne $89.99 95WA with some homemade sashimi bowls earlier this month, I feel compelled to repeat myself. No Champagne lover will ever say “I bought too many of the 2014s.” I understand that these wines lack the flash of the 2012s and the power of the 2015s, but in the medium-to-long term I promise that they will evolve into something very, very special—and I think better than those two other vintages. I caught a glimpse of that with this great Champagne on the fifth of this month.

Like the 1988s, the 2014s have a classic, balanced, and streamlined character. This great offering from Roederer is one of the best available in the market, yet it still represents a fantastic value at the current price. This wine is based around Pinot Noir, which makes up 71% of the blend, all sourced from the original land in Verzenay Grand Cru that this house purchased in the 1850s. The remaining 29% comes from estate vineyards in Chouilly Grand Cru. The wine is vinified primarily in stainless, but one quarter is fermented in wood. The dosage is 8 grams per liter.  

The class of the Grand Cru estate fruit comes through in the finished Champagne, and I love the fresh baguette aromas, the subtle nuttiness, and the clean red cherry Pinot savor on the generous bouquet. In the mouth, the more citric, blood-orange elements of the wine come out, and the incredibly fine bubbles really dance. With the blue fin tuna in our sashimi bowls, the wine showed off its incredible fresh cut, minerality and ease of drinking. The finish is exceptionally long, balanced and the chalk of the Grand Cru sites is effortlessly carried off by lively acidity.

This is a special bottle, and we won’t have it for long; the 2015 is already out on the market. I am looking forward to checking in on this over the years. It is a Champagne that will enjoy a long life in a good cellar. It is a little too charming right now, and I might have to put my remaining bottles in my off-site locker!

A toast to you!

- Gary Westby, K&L Champagne Buyer