“I have tasted the 2015 Cristal three times so far - once as part of an extensive vertical I will be reporting on shortly, and then later in my office. Those tastings paint a portrait of a complex Champagne that is still finding its center. Tasted at the maison, the 2015 is rich, dense and explosive, with tremendous textural intensity and also a good bit of energy to back it up. Citrus confit, spice, ginger, chalk and dried flowers abound in a Champagne endowed with tremendous aromatic presence in a style that offers notable richness, but lighter than vintages such as 2012. There is a bit of the savoriness that is such a signature of the year, but it is nicely integrated in the wine’s fabric. Two later tastings in my office strongly suggest the 2015 has already started to shut down a bit, which is a shame, as it may be hard to read for some time to come. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: November 2022.”

“The 2014 Cristal Rosé sizzles with energy. Finely cut and crystalline to the core, the 2014 is laced with striking vibrancy. Chalk, mint, white flowers, cranberry and blood orange all race across the palate. Deceptively understated and nuanced, the 2014 possesses tons of energy and captivating inner perfume. The 2014 is at the beginning of what is sure to be a very long life. I would not plan on opening a bottle for at least a few years. The style of the vintage is one built on linear intensity more than opulence, like say 2004, with captivating aromatics and a sort of inner tension that needs to resolve. As always, the Rosé is done in the classic Roederer infusion style in which Pinot Noir is vinified on the skins and then blended with Chardonnay to complete the fermentation. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: June 2022.”

“The 2015 Louis Roederer “Starck Nature” Rosé non-dosé has a lovely salmon color and is relatively deeply hued for a Rosé bottling from Maison Roederer. The wine is composed from a cépages of fifty percent pinot noir, thirty-seven percent chardonnay and thirteen percent pinot noir, with all of the grapes grown in the commune of Cumières. The wine takes its color from a percentage of the pinot noir harvested in the lieu à dit of les Chèvres, which is segregated and macerates on its skins to take on a bit of color, prior to the infusion pinot noir being blended back in with the other vins clairs. Just over ten percent of the vins clairs are barrel-fermented, and thirty percent went through malolactic fermentation for the 2015 bottling. The wine offers up a beautiful nose of strawberries, rhubarb, a touch of tangerine, gentle brown spice tones, chalky soil and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a fine core and soil signature, elegant mousse, bright acids and a long, well-balanced and classy finish. This is excellent Brut Nature! 2023-2040.”

“As readers know, I seldom drink Brut Nature bottlings when they are first released, as I prefer to let them soften up their acids with some bottle age. However, the 2015 Philippe Starck bottling from Maison Louis Roederer was the exception, as I thoroughly enjoyed drinking this bottle in its relative youth. The wine is composed in 2015 from a blend of forty-six percent chardonnay, thirty-seven percent pinot noir and seventeen percent pinot meunier, with just under a quarter of the vins clairs barrel-fermented in this vintage. This is a non-malo wine and offers up a superb bouquet of apple, white peach, fresh-baked bread, a lovely base of soil, dried flowers and a nice touch of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is bright, deep and full-bodied, with a lovely core, excellent mineral drive and grip, refined mousse, well-buffered acids and a long, complex and quite stylish finish. Fine, fine juice. 2023-2050+.”

“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.”