Roederer 2008 Vintage

The great Louis Roederer Vintage 2008

The 2008 Roederer has a brilliant acidity that gives the ripe exotic fruit flavours a real kick. It is wonderful to drink now, but will continue to improve. In the words of Chef de Cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon: "This 2008 vintage is an outstanding concentrate that energetically and intensely combines the substance and strength of this great vintage.

Tasting

Notes of white fruit such as Williams pear and vineyard peach combine with the fresh acidity of citrus zest. This is complemented by aromas of dried fruit, deepened by toasted nuances from the ageing in French oak and the long maturation on the lees (autolysis). The attack on the palate is dense, round and sensual - typical of the clay-limestone soils of Louis Roederer Vintage. The fruit is juicy and full-bodied, developing from light-coloured to red nuances such as fig, accompanied by fine floral notes such as roses. Fresh citrus flavours, spices, fine wood and dark chocolate provide further depth. The wine is full of energy and precise, with a clear structure, great elegance and a long, lively finish.

Blending and ageing

The Vintage 2008 is a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay from Roederer's own vineyards in the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs.

Roederer Vintage is shaped by the Pinot Noirs from the cooler sites of the Montagne de Reims. While the southern Montagne de Reims, with its southern slopes inclined towards the Marne Valley, allows the Pinot Noir to ripen more quickly, the growing season in the northern Reims mountains favoured by Roederer is cooler and longer. The founder Louis Roederer decided to base his vintage on the structure and strength of the Pinot Noirs from the mountains south of Reims. There, the vines ripen more slowly in a north-north-east location and produce wines that are somewhat rough and closed when young. However, they are then largely micro-oxidised in wooden barrels and become much finer and more intense while still in the barrel. In 1850, Louis Roederer bought his first vineyards in Verzenay, 15 hectares to be precise. The House of Roederer refers to this as ‘La Montagne’. The vineyards are very calcareous and face north-east. As well as being velvety and deeply fruity, the Pinot Noir from this vineyard has a cool, chalky flavour. The vineyards in Verzenay and Verzy also characterise the 2008 vintage, with the Chardonnays coming from the Cote de Blancs. While Cristal is based on the most mineralised sites in Avize and le Mesnil, the Vintage contains more grapes from Chouilly, which show some more exuberant Chardonnay style.

35% of the base wines, and almost half of the Pinot Noirs, were fermented in oak with bâtonnage. Malolactic fermentation was skipped in order to preserve the crisp acidity. The wine matured on the lees for four years.

An exceptional vintage champagne

750 mL

12.5

Champagne

Pinot Noir & Chardonnay

Sulphites

• Brut

France

Champagne Louis Roederer, Boulevard Lundy 21, 51100 Reims, Frankreich