Roederer Collection 244 at the Residence de France
This past Thursday I was invited to the residence of the French Consul Général for a showcase of the Villa Albertine, a charity that the Roederer Foundation supports. There I met with Frédéric Rouzaud, the president of Champagne Louis Roederer, and he premiered his Louis Roederer "Collection 244" Brut Champagne, which should be coming to K&L soon. It was a wonderful evening and I learned about the residencies that Villa Albertine organizes for French artists of all types in cities all over the U.S. Their goal of promoting cultural interchange between the two countries was executed perfectly by the resident of honor at the party, the pastry chef Corentin Poirier, who treated us to a California Meyer lemon pastry that knocked our socks off! French savoir faire and fresh California ingredients!
The Collection 244 showed off the incredible quality of the 2019 vintage that makes up 54% of the blend. It also includes 36% of the ambitious perpetual blend that Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, Frédéric’s cellarmaster, adds to each year; in this blend it has 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 in it. The last 10% of the wine comes from back vintages made and kept in wood from the young vines on their Cristal estate. The Champagne is meant to reflect the terroir of the whole region, and is a blend of one-third each of the Côte des Blancs, the Mountain of Reims, and the Valley of the Marne. The final composition of the wine is 41% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir, and 26% Meunier, and the dosage is very low at just 7 grams per liter.
I loved the gorgeous gold tint color of this Champagne and the generous bouquet of toasted baguette and bright lemon, framed by a subtle nutty character. In the mouth it was effortlessly light, but hidden underneath was considerable complexity, bready richness, savory Pinot fruit and of course, clean chalkiness. It was easy to drink this all night, and I did! The finish had great liveliness, minerality, and was very, very long for a non-vintage. I think this might be the very best non-vintage on the market right now. These Collection wines are worth following, and now that they are numbered, they are much easier to keep track of if you decide to cellar some!
If you are thirsty now, we still have a good supply of the delicious Louis Roederer "Collection 243" Brut Champagne $59.99 to drink while you are waiting for the 244 to arrive!
A toast to you!