Tasting Notes
Louis Roederer Collection 244 Gift Box + Champagne Gallery Keyring
"This thought process about Collection began 10 years ago. The facts were undeniable, climate change had been affecting the Champagne region over the past 30 years and we saw in this an opportunity to harvest extra mature grapes at the end of earlier harvests".
AN EXCEPTIONAL 2019 HARVEST
This 244th blend from the Louis Roederer Champagne House is based on the finest successes of the 2019 harvest, a year of record-breaking temperatures brought by particularly intense heat waves. Dry and continental and of magnificent maturity, this year gave us wines that were dense and fresh, with a masterful balance, conducive to bringing out the powerful and luscious Collection character in the blend.
All the wines from this harvest were rigorously tasted, plot by plot, before being blended in a complex symphony recreating the perfect picture of the vintage.
Lovely golden yellow, very champagne-like, hue. Dense and steady flow of extremely fine bubbles. Deep, broad bouquet of ripe fruit (wild peaches, william pears) combined with citrus (lemons, blood oranges). The iodised and smoky notes, associated with the autolysis and the ageing in wood, add aromatic freshness. Then come notes of chalk and a hint of reduction, suggesting that the wine will be concentrated and powerful.
The entry to the palate is delicious showing a rich and robust texture. We have a very juicy and concentrated sensation as if we were biting into a ripe fruit. The substance is caressingly soft, coating the palate but is then immediately lightened by the delicate bubbles.
The length is created by a lovely backbone of chalky freshness. The wine is both delectably rich, with a slightly roasted character, and super fresh thanks to a salivating finish. The smoky notes then take over to underpin a very flavoursome finish.
Collection 244 marks the return of the texture of the Meunier from the Marne and the Montagne, which adds a lovely richness to the well-structured and saline Pinot noir and Chardonnay grapes!
ORIGINS:
1/3 our “la Rivière” Estate, 1/3 our “la Montagne” Estate, 1/3 our “la Côte” Estate
Grapes grown on Louis Roederer's own estates are complemented by grapes from our partner winegrowers plots selected from the "Heart of the Terroir".
GRAPE VARIETIES: 41% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot noir, 26% Meunier
244th BLEND :
PERPETUAL RESERVE:
36% ( 2012/2013/2014/ 2015/2016/2017/2018)
RESERVE WINES AGED IN OAK:
10% ( 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
2019 HARVEST: 54% (with 5% vinified in wood )
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION: 35%
DOSAGE: 7g/l