Founded in 1982, Roederer Estate is nestled in Mendocino County’s fog-shrouded, Anderson Valley. As the California property of Champagne Louis Roederer, Roederer Estate builds upon a centuries-old tradition of fine winemaking. The premium grape growing region's proximity to the ocean gives rise to a gentle cycle of warm days and cool nights, allowing grapes to mature slowly on the vine and develop full varietal character.

L’Ermitage, Roederer Estate’s special tête de cuvée, is a sparkling wine made only in exceptional years from pre-selected, estate-grown grapes. Carrying on the tradition of Champagne Louis Roederer in France, Roederer Estate produces its sparkling wines in the French méthode traditionelle and adds special oak-aged reserve wines to each blend. L’Ermitage debuted with the 1989 vintage.

Roederer Estate wines are made with juice from just the cuvée pressing; no première or deuxième taille is used. The concept of the vintage L’Ermitage is the same one that is used in Champagne: Only the best of the vintage is selected. These are exceptional wines that create a “noble” blend that allows for longer aging, which produces a fine wine with elegance and finesse.

The rosé blend is crafted using a small fraction of red wine, from pinot noir grown on the estate, especially made for this purpose using Burgundian maceration technique that allows skin contact to extract color and aromas. This red wine brings delicate berry flavors and a nice color to further extend the L’Ermitage smoothness and subtleties, allowing for a unique tasting experience.

The wine for the reserve dosage added to the L’Ermitage Rosé 2011 was aged five years in a French oak cask. Following disgorgement, L’Ermitage Rosé 2011 was aged an additional five months on the cork prior to release.

L’Ermitage Rosé 2011 brings complexity and smoothness to a higher level. Aromas of toasted crust , black cherry clafoutis and a hint of caramel: this is dessert in a bottle! The color is the typical delicate copper hues of aged rosé and gives a hint of the finesse and pinot texture enjoyed when tasting this wine.

The 2011 growing season is close to the 2010 one: fairly cool all along with an early start of the Fall rainy season. Fruit set is below average because of the cool and wet spring. Ripeness is happening slowly during harvest and early rain creates Botrytis pressure on the Chardonnay. The acid and ripeness balance of the wines is showing lots of similarities with a harvest from Northern France.