Designed to represent the new approach the house is taking in line with the importance they place on sustainability and efforts to reduce the effects of climate change, the Louis Roederer Collection identifies and brings out the characteristics of terroirs enjoying sustainable practices. Over half the grapes in this MV are from the 2017 vintage, a year when no Vintage Louis Roederer, Cristal or Cristal Rosé will not be released. The best of the crop has found its way into this particular cuvee.
Collection 242 signifies the 242nd harvest since its foundation in 1776 and replaces the Brut Premier NV.
'It was a desire for freedom, to take the quality of our multi-vintage blends to an even higher level, that prompted us to take a new course of action and to create Collection, a worthy successor to Brut Premier. Collection is a champagne that is vibrant and contemporary!' Frédéric Rouzaud, CEO Maison Louis Roederer
Aromas of cooked apple, bread dough and lemon tart follow through to a full body with round, delicious fruit and a rich, flavorful finish. Yet, it remains tight and fine with lovely, compressed bubbles. New energy and freshness. Medium-to full-bodied with layers of fruit and vivid intensity. 42% chardonnay, 36% pinot noir and 22% pinot meunier. 8 grams dosage. Four years on the less. A new-format non-vintage that designates the year of the 242nd harvest, 2017, plus reserve wine of 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Drink or hold. 94 points, James Suckling
"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 less than perfectly ripe vintages," explains Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon. "We were blending in pursuit of maturity, of ripeness. The concept behind the Brut Collection is the opposite: we're looking for freshness—and we are embracing singularity, something we're emphasizing by enumerating each year's blend." This project has been in the making since 2012, when Lecaillon set aside 21,000 liters of wine to constitute a perpetual reserve aged in large tanks without malolactic fermentation. Sourcing has evolved too: less must is coming from cooperatives, and only vineyards cultivated without the use of herbicides inform the blend. A dedicated team oversees all this, visiting every grower three times per year. And vinification is parcel by parcel to deliver a maximum of blending components. Iteration 242 is based on the 2017 vintage (56%), supplemented by 34% reserve wines from the perpetual reserve established in 2012 and 10% foudre-aged reserve wines.
So much for the composition and concept of the new NV Brut Collection 242, but how does it taste? This debut release is very impressive indeed, wafting from the glass with notes of pear, peach, ripe citrus fruit, toasted almonds, fresh pastry and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and textural, it's concentrated and layered, with lively acids, an enlivening pinpoint mousse and a long, sapid finish. Brut Premier was already a very persuasive wine, but the new Brut Collection nevertheless represents a step up. 93+ points, William Kelley WA
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