Louis Roederer
21 BOULEVARD LUNDY 51053 REIMS
Louis Roederer remains one of the last 100% independent, family-owned Champagne Houses, presided over by seventh generation Frédéric Rouzaud. Under the stewardship of Chef du Cave, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon these past two decades, Louis Roederer has become the largest Biodynamic Domaine in Champagne with their 242 hectares located in the three most important sub-regions: Montagne de Reims (La Montagne); Vallée de la Marne (La Rivière) and Côtes des Blancs (La Côte). In March 2021, following 20 years of environmental transition, 115 hectares of the historic Louis Roederer family vineyard achieved organic certification.
In 1845, Louis Roederer acquired 15 hectares in the Grand Cru vineyards of Verzenay. The idea—which was quite unusual at a time when grapes had little value—was to become a wine grower in order to master the entire process of creating his vintage wines. Ever since, every Louis Roederer vintage originates exclusively from our own vines, which is rare indeed in the Champagne region.
The quest for a diversity of terroirs, crus, parcels, and grape varieties in the vineyards (or climats to use the Burgundian expression) was rapidly integrated by the House of Louis Roederer. A groundbreaking strategy was implemented, which involved buying specific parcels selected for their capacity to produce distinctive wines. This strategy is still a core component of the House’s continuing development.
In 2013, Louis Roederer’s vineyards stretched across 240 hectares and include 410 parcels.
The Louis Roederer estate cultivates the 3 traditional grape varieties: Chardonnay is appreciated for its minerality, finesse, and elegance; Pinot noir’s solid constitution adds structure to the blends and prepares them for ageing; Pinot Meunier is a slightly less refined sweet grape variety, whose adaptability brings harmony and softness to certain cuvées.
The grapes are meticulously gathered by hand and are collected in the buckets and pressed on the site of the harvest. The pressing process is a delicate one, because the berry must not alter the colour of the juice, which must maintain its golden hue and clarity.
Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon – Chef de Cave
In mid-2021 Louis Roederer made the brave and audacious move to replace Brut Premier, created in 1986 by Frédéric’s father Jean-Claude, with a new multi-vintage cuvée, Collection. Largely in response to climate change and riper fruit, and matched by a desire to move towards the best possible blend in any given edition rather than retaining consistency of House style above all else, each Collection has its own identity.
Collection 242 represents the 242nd cuvée since foundation, and is based on vintage 2017 (56%). For freshness and salinity 36% is from Louis Roederer’s Réserve Perpétuelle, initiated in 2012: 50:50 chardonnay and pinot noir, zero malolactic fermentation and stored reductively in large stainless-steel vats. For depth and complexity, Louis Roederer increased their Réserve wines to 10%, mainly young vine Domaine Cristal vines, aged in large wooden foudres. The dosage for Collection 242 is lower at 8 g/L.
