Champagne Louis Roederer Camille Volibarts
Champagne, France
Vintage:2020 (Current)
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Reviews
Wine Spectator 92 Points
A graceful white, with flint, smoke and spice accents on the nose transitioning to flavors of persimmon and golden apple fruit, with toasted almond, Meyer lemon and saffron notes. Long and creamy, with deftly honed acidity well-meshed with the plush profile. Drink now through 2034.
The Wine Advocate 93 Points
The 2020 Coteaux Champenois Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Hommage à Camille is a beautifully precise, incisive wine, unwinding in the glass with notes of white peach, sweet citrus fruit, freshly baked bread and flowers. Medium-bodied, pure and racy, with a tightly wound core and a long, saline finish, it's the best rendition yet of this cuvée from Roederer.
Wine & Spirits 94 Points
This chardonnay grows at a southeast-facing slope, a 1.36-acre parcel farmed by Roederer in the lieu-dit Volibarts, in the Côte des Blancs grand cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The fruit ferments without added yeasts, after one-third of the lot macerates on the skins, encouraging the saturated flavors of beeswax and honey in the wine. It ages for 16 months on the lees, with 44 percent of the lot in sandstone tanks, the balance equally divided between new barrels and stainless steel. The ripeness of the 2020 vintage comes through in a chardonnay at 12.9 percent alcohol (where else in the world could you make that statement?). Pale chamomile scents infuse the wine's toasty richness, its pedigree apparent in the stamina and flavor depth this displays as it opens over the course of days.
Vinous Media 93+ Points
The 2020 Camille Hommage Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Coteaux Champenois is nuanced and polished. Lemon confit, white flowers, mint and white pepper are all finely delineated. The Chardonnay is quite a bit more reticent than the Pinot at this stage. Perhaps that reflects a move towards more large format oak. My impression is that the Roederer team is still figuring out this wine. Even so, the 2020 is pretty tasty.
JamesSuckling.com 95 Points
This is a cool, mineral and even austere white, showing notes of apricot stones, chalk, wet clay, white ash, grapefruit and sandalwood. It’s medium-bodied, sharp and alert, with spiciness and tension. Chardonnay from lieu-dit Volibarts in Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger. Mostly vinified in ceramic with 25% in new oak. Better from 2024.
Overview
Named after one of the most remarkable figures in the history of Champagne Louis Roederer, Camille Volibarts allows wine enthusiasts to discover another facet of the unique winemaking expertise of this family-owned House, today headed by Frédéric Rouzaud, Camille Olry-Roederer's great-grandson.
A resourceful widow at the helm of Louis Roederer from 1932 to 1975, Camille brought the House into the modern world as she successfully steered the it through all the important events of that time. A brilliant ambassador, Camille enjoyed inviting her most loyal customers to dine with her, not only to unveil her latest champagnes but to surprise them… toying with codes and conventions, she used to serve the multi-vintage brut at the apéritif and some still wines from Roederer’s finest vineyards with the meal. Her guests were amazed by these still wines from Avize or Cumières!
Behind the creation of Camille, we find the natural, virtuous viticulture that has been practiced by the House for over 20 years, but here we see it taken in a new direction, daring to break with Champagne tradition through the absence of bubbles. It allows Louis Roederer to take what Nature has offered and render it even more beautiful, revealing another facet of the Champagne terroirs.
Winemaking
Sourced from a 1.36-acre plot in the Volibarts lieut-dit (Le Mesnil-sur-Oger), the smaller Chardonnay clusters are crushed by foot and left to macerate for two hours before being combined with the larger grapes and then pressed together. A pre-fermentation maceration (1/3 of the grapes) at the time of pressing lends the wine a tactile, almost tannic dimension, followed by a spontaneous fermentation.
16 months aging on the full lees with a little stirring. 44% of the wine is aged in sandstone eggs, allowing the wine to breathe whilst imparting richness and fat due to their spherical shape. 28% is aged in new French oak barrels (steamed Centre France and Seguin Moreau barrels) which lend the wine subtle oaky notes without overpowering its flavor. The remaining 28% of the wine is aged in stainless steel. A total of 2,906 bottles were produced.
Tasting Notes
Deep golden yellow hue. Bouquet of yellow fruit (Mirabelle plums), dried nuts (almonds), wheat and roasted hazelnuts. The oaky notes are delicately interwoven into the wine's bouquet, giving an impression of a delicious, noble reduction. The palate is concentrated and caressingly soft with a big, rich, rounded and oily texture. The mid-palate reveals a delicate, sappy texture combined with the lovely mineral acidity that is the hallmark of this wine, while the texture of the oak lengthens the palate and creates a very savory finish. Oaky notes delicately interwoven into the wine's bouquet, giving an impression of a delicious noble reduction.
Harvest Notes
The 2020 season followed a similar trajectory to that of 2019: a mild, wet winter followed by a dry summer with several heatwaves, admittedly less extreme than in 2019, but which had an impact on the vines. Fortunately, a rather dull month of June brought us a wet interlude between two dry periods. Despite the hot spells and the impression of constant sunshine, the 2020 campaign ended up with relatively normal temperatures and sunshine levels. These continental weather conditions, but with "normal" annual averages, allowed us to produce ripe and well balanced wines!
Technical Information
Varietals: 100% Chardonnay
Wine Alcohol: 12.9%
Harvest Start Date: September 11, 2020
Bottling Date: December 1, 2022