Champagne Louis Roederer Collection

Champagne, France

Vintage:242 (Past)

243 (Past) | 244 (Current) | 245 (Current)

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Champagne Louis Roederer Collection 242
  • JS 94
  • WE 94
  • WA 93+
  • D 93
  • VFTC 93
  • W&S 93
  • V 92
  • WS 92
  • JR 17/20

Reviews

View From the Cellar 93 Points February 2023, John Gilman

“It has now been a year since I first tasted Louis Roederer’s “Collection 242” non-vintage Brut, which is the heir apparent to the maison’s Brut Premier bottling. The wine has blossomed beautifully since I first tasted it and is clearly now the new standard bearer for excellence in a nonvintage Brut from a Grande Marque. The wine is from the base year of 2017 and composed from a cépages of forty-two percent chardonnay, thirty-six percent pinot noir and twenty-two percent pinot meunier. As I mentioned in my last note on the wine, this bottling includes twelve percent reserve wines ranging back to 2009, as well as one-third of the blend that is taken from a solera of “perpetual reserve” that was begun for this bottling in the 2012 vintage and will be included in each subsequent release of the Collection series. The wine was finished with a dosage of eight grams per liter and has blossomed beautifully today, offering up a deep and complex nose of apple, peach, a superb base of soil, fresh-baked bread, gentle nuttiness, dried flowers, a hint of oak and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, complex and full-bodied, with beautiful precision and bounce, a fine girdle of acidity, lovely mineral undertow, elegant mousse and a long, vibrant and very, very classy finish. Non-vintage Brut simply does not get better than this marvelous wine! I am going out tomorrow and buying some for my cellar, as this wine is going to age brilliantly. 2023-2045.”

Wine Enthusiast 94 Points July 2022, Roger Voss

“This is the first in a new series of nonvintage Champagnes that replaces the producer’s well-known Brut Premier. Based around the 2017 vintage and blended with wines from six other years, the wine is dry while also having a rich, toasty character alongside mineral, white fruit and spice flavors. Drink now.”

Wine & Spirits 93 Points December 2021, Josh Greene

“This first release of Roederer’s new Collection is based on the 2017 harvest, the 242nd for the house. This wine replaces Brut Premier. Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon bases the Collection blend on a “perpetual reserve,” held in stainless steel since 2012, with wine added in each vintage: half pinot noir, half chardonnay, none of it having undergone malolactic conversion. For the 242 blend, he included some oak-aged reserve wines before selecting individual parcel wines from partner growers, focusing on chardonnay, along with some meunier and pinot noir from the Marne Valley. The final blend is 34 percent perpetual reserve, 10 percent oak-aged reserves, and 56 percent from the 2017 harvest. While Brut Premier was a more spherical wine in the mouth, Collection 242 is finer, with greater length of flavor and more energy. The scent is floral and seashell-mineral, the texture caressing, then tense. My notes and the comments from the panel are all about the wine’s harmony and structure, without a word about fruit. It’s an exciting wine to taste and to drink.”

Wine Spectator 92 Points October 15, 2021, Alison Napjus

“A bright, harmonious Champagne, layering well-cut acidity and a chalky underpinning with flavors of white cherry, crunchy pineapple, green almond and beeswax. The finely detailed mousse carries hints of saffron and spring blossom on the lingering finish. Drink now through 2024.”

The Wine Advocate 93+ Points September 23, 2021, William Kelley

“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.”

Vinous Media 92 Points August 2021, Antonio Galloni

“The NV Collection 242 is a new wine from Roederer that replaces the Brut Premier in the range. The Collection (which now will be numbered by harvest) is a blend of three components: a perpetual reserve done in the classic non-malo Roederer style, reserve wines in oak with a touch of malo, and a base vintage, in this case 2017. That blend results in a NV Champagne that offers lovely richness and resonance, with plenty of yellow orchard fruit and floral character. Whereas Brut Premier was typically a focused, nervy wine that, while consistently excellent, also was not always in line with the Roederer house style, the 242 tastes more like a Roederer Champagne in terms of its complexity. Incidentally, there is no Vintage, Cristal or Cristal Rosé in 2017, so all the best lots went into this bottling. Dosage is 8 grams per liter, so lower than the 9 or so that was typical for recent Brut Premier and much lower than the 12-13 that was once customary. The 242 was also bottled with a bit less sugar than the norm, which results in lower atmospheres of pressure in the bottle and silkier texture. “Brut Premier was created in the late 1970s and 1980s, when we struggled to ripen,” Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon explained. “It was our way of compensating for lack of ripeness in the field and the variability of quality across vintages. Because of climate change, achieving ripeness is not an issue today. Instead, our challenge is maintaining freshness and precision. For that reason, we decided to re-think our NV and start from a place of positive rather than negative selection.”

Decanter 93 Points July 20, 2021, Simon Field MW

“Softly shimmering straw gold, green tints, with a delicate filigree dancing at will around the glass. The nose is gently authoritative; spring flowers garlanding stone fruit, a hint of hawthorn maybe, then lemongrass. The palate has encyclopaedic depth, the intricacies of the Perpetual Reserve weaving their early magic; almond, sloe, gingerbread and apples; the finish has a pleasing twist of bitterness, courtesy of the small percentage of oak-aged reserve wine. Maybe the dosage (8g/L) can come down even further, such is the engaging and subtle complexity harnessed elsewhere?”

JancisRobinson.com 17/20 Points July 18, 2021, Jancis Robinson

“Deep straw colour and tiny, tiny bead. Really satisfying, complete, beautifuly balanced nose with some evolution and richness. A little bit of toastiness and it tastes pretty ripe. Very different indeed from a Brut Zéro champagne! Firm. Some tasters may object to the dosage. But it's a beautiful wine.”

JamesSuckling.com 94 Points June 25, 2021, James Suckling

“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.”

Overview

Driven by a new ambition and freedom, Champagne Louis Roederer is writing the next chapter of its story with the creation of Collection. As the House practices a sustainable viticulture that respects the living environment in order to fully express the qualities of the terroir, it also anticipates future seasons while adapting to the present. As such, an uninhibited and bold approach was the only way Champagne Louis Roederer could take its perpetual quest for excellence to the next level—and create a worthy successor to Brut Premier. 

Each Collection is a change of gear, a new chapter in the Louis Roederer uncompromising pursuit of taste. Always unique, yet decidedly familiar!

Winemaking

Collection is based on a selection of plots located in the heart of the Champagne region that are suited to its identity and where the emphasis is on sustainable growing practices. True to its roots and terroirs, Roederer's historical origins are reflected in the blend:

  • 1/3 "La Rivière" | Vallée de la Marne

  • 1/3 "La Montagne" | Montagne de Reims

  • 1/3 "La Côte" | Côte des Blancs

Collection 242 represents the Champagne House's 242nd blend since its foundation. It is based on the finest wines from the 2017 harvest and complemented by 34% of the Perpetual Reserve (2012-2016) and 12% of oak-aged reserve wines sourced from young Cristal vines (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016).

Tasting Notes

The Collection 242 blend is dominated by Chardonnay which was of exceptional quality in the 2017 vintage. The perfectly ripe Chardonnay grapes lend the wine its aromas of ripe, sweet fruit complemented by subtle oaky notes. The palate is rich and ripe with a luxurious texture that coats the palate, the signature of an outstanding Chardonnay. The Pinot noir and Meunier grapes from the Vallée de la Marne complete the wine’s broad, luscious, smooth and juicy character. The finish is energetic and fresh.

Harvest Notes

2017, the base vintage for Collection 242, was a year of living dangerously! An exceptionally warm and dry winter and spring, but the latter brought severe frosts from 17 to 29 April, setting the sorry record for 12 nights of frost. These were followed by a dull, wet and not particularly hot summer, which ended in an almost tropical (hot and humid) spell at the end of August. This sudden change led to a significant increase in grey rot on the ripening Pinot noir and Meunier grapes. The harvest was fast-paced and completed very quickly demanding precise and methodical selection work, of an unprecedented level even for Roederer. The harvest took place between August 31st and September 9th 2017.

Technical Information

Varietals: 42% Chardonnay, 36% Pinot Noir, 22% Pinot Meunier

Dosage: 8 g/L