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 2020 is a classic vintage for L’Ermitage where maturity and brightness beautifully frame the wine. There was no malolactic fermentation as there was in the 2019, but there was a bit more maturity on the vine for that difficult vintage, which was during the Covid pandemic. The dosage called for 6.5 g/L to give wrapping to the underlying acidity and retain a clean, crisp finish. The dosage was selected from oak cask 2020 vintage. Following disgorgement, 2020 L’Ermitage was aged an additional seven months on the cork prior to release.

Our 2020 L’Ermitage Brut shows delicate fruit notes amid lifted aromatics and freshness. It features a crisp attack and pleasant lingering creaminess that is followed by a vibrant and long salivating finish with a sense of fruit skin texture.

The 2020 vintage in Anderson Valley was marked by a drier-than-normal winter, followed by a warmer-than-usual summer because of the lack of fog. Budbreak and flowering occurred somewhat earlier than during a usual growing season.