2015 Louis Roederer Brut Rose Champagne France

2015 Louis Roederer Brut Rose Champagne France

with No Comment $80-$90ChampagneChampagne/SparklingFranceKevin Vogt

LOUIS ROEDERER

BRUT ROSÉ 2015
CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE

2015 Louis Roederer Brut Rose Champagne France
The Louis Roederer Champagne house was one of the first to be founded in the region in 1776 and has been a leader in outstanding quality since. They source the fruit from vineyards in the villages of Montage de Reims, Côtes des Blancs, and Valleé de la Marne, maintaining an average score of 98 percent on the Champagne classification scale, offering an extraordinary level of quality. 
 
The Pinot Noir for this wine sees a long and soft extraction to integrate the most delicate and exquisite flavors before adding Chardonnay to the fermentation vessels. This wine has a mind-blowing balance of fruit, vanilla, minerality, and salinity that dances on the palate with levity and a lengthy, complex finish.
 
If you love Rosé Champagnes like Billecart-Salmon and Ruinart, I bet this one will be your new favorite.
 
LOUIS ROEDERER
BRUT ROSÉ 2015
CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE
 
Your Price: $85
 
 
“The 2015 Brut Vintage Rosé is generous and demonstrative, bursting with aromas of peach, orange and pear mingled with hints of red berries, fresh bread and ginger. Full-bodied, layered and vinous, it’s rich and enveloping, its textural attack segueing into an ample, fleshy core that’s girdled by bright acids and enlivened by a pillowy mousse. Long and expansive, it’s more generous and gourmand than its racier 2014 predecessor, but just as good.”
94 Points
 
“This shows lots of cotton candy and peach, together with strawberries and cream. But not overpowering. Some cranberry, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with fine bubbles and a lively finish. Dosage 8g/L. Drink now or hold.”
94 Points
Louis Roederer Collection 242 Brut Champagne

Louis Roederer Collection 242 Brut Champagne

with No Comment $50-$60ChampagneChampagne/SparklingFranceKevin Vogt

LOUIS ROEDERER 

COLLECTION 242 
BRUT CHAMPAGNE

Louis Roederer Collection 242 Brut Champagne
Champagne is one of the coolest growing regions in France and has seen a significant increase in temperatures resulting in riper flavors, undesirable for Champagne production. Louis Roederer has taken this as an opportunity to redefine their estate plots and historic partnerships in the Coeur de Terroir with the region’s acclaimed chalky soils and by harvesting earlier before the grapes accumulate too much sugar.
 
Collection 242 is the estate’s 242nd blend since its founding and where the art of blending comes into play with 34% Perpetual Reserve, 10% oak-aged reserve wines from 2009 through 2016 vintages, and 56% of the 2017 vintage. This new-age approach combined with old-world methods and Louis Roederer’s continuing drive for ultimate quality is an evolution in style necessary to preserve the integrity of Champagne. The results are breathtaking and should be a part of your holiday celebrations this year.
 
LOUIS ROEDERER 
COLLECTION 242 
BRUT CHAMPAGNE
 
Your Price: $55
 
 
“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
 
“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
2016 Chateau Haut-Beausejour Saint-Estephe Bordeaux

2016 Chateau Haut-Beausejour Saint-Estephe Bordeaux

with No Comment $30-$40BordeauxBordeauxFranceKevin Vogt

CHÂTEAU 

HAUT-BEAUSÉJOUR
SAINT-ESTÈPHE
2016 BORDEAUX

2016 Chateau Haut-Beausejour Saint-Estephe Bordeaux
Saint-Estèphe is the Northernmost sub-region of Medoc’s six communal appellations and produces sturdy, robust wines rich with old-world charisma, depth, and character. Château Haut-Beauséjour is a dark horse of the region, acquired by Louis Roederer in the 90s and crafted by Nicolas Glumineau, a graduate of the University of Bordeaux with a Master of Genetics applied to enology, who began his career at 1st growth producer’s Haut-Brion and Château Margaux. 
 
St. Estèphe’s proximity to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gironde River create a temperate, maritime climate, combines with well-draining gravel over clay soils to produce powerful fruit with chiseled character. 
 
Calling on a more significant percentage of Merlot than other Châteaux in Saint-Estèphe at 62%, Nicolas completes the blend with Cabernet Sauvignon and a dash of Petit Verdot, creating a supple, fleshy aspect, balancing Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon’s powerful tannins.
 
CHÂTEAU 
HAUT-BEAUSÉJOUR
SAINT-ESTÈPHE
2016 BORDEAUX
 
Your Price: $37.99
 
 
“A generous, dramatic but forthrightly tannic St.-Estèphe that has enough cassis fruit, smoke and minty freshness to easily carry this structure and still come off energetic at the long, refreshing finish. Drink or hold.”
92 Points
 
“Another Pichon Comtesse estate up in St-Estèphe with a lovely ripe fruit expression. There are some tight, austere tannins right now, and the wine is a little less immediately exuberant than some, but give it a few years in bottle to flesh out…”
90 Points
 
“The 2016 Haut-Beauséjour is a very pretty, expressive wine that isn’t trying to do too much or be something it is not. Supple, plump and juicy, it offers lovely depth and impeccable balance in an open, approachable style that will offer plenty of pleasure over the next 15-20 years, give or take.”
89-91 Points