Personal advice
The Rouzaud family, owners of Roederer, prefer to drink their Blanc de Blancs at family celebrations. In 2025, they opened the 2008 vintage, as Frédéric Rouzaud revealed to us.
Aromas of ripe lemon, peach, and lemon meringue pie are complemented by vanilla brioche and lightly toasted nuts. The palate is very fine, with precise minerality and ultra-fine bubbles.
The grapes for this refined Blanc de Blancs come from the best Chardonnay Grand Crus in Champagne: Avize and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The vineyards are estate-owned. Even though certification was not yet complete in 2008, the vineyards received no chemical treatments that year. While a Blanc de Blancs in Champagne does not have to be pure Chardonnay (other white varieties like Pinot Blanc are permitted), this is 100% Chardonnay. 20% of the base wines were fermented and aged in oak barrels with bâtonnage (lees stirring) to add greater fullness and texture. Malolactic fermentation was blocked. The 2008 vintage matured for five years on fine lees. It is disgorged at lower pressure, resulting in less aggressive carbonation and a rounder, creamier palate earlier in its life.
2008 is one of the exceptional years in Champagne: cool and challenging, yet saved by a warm September that delivered perfect ripeness and high acidity. The wines are concentrated, fresh, and exceptionally long-lived – ideal for extended lees ageing, as seen in this Blanc de Blancs.
A glance at the Alfavin cellar
A glance at the Alfavin cellar
A glance at the Alfavin Cellar