Louis Roederer et Philippe Starck Vintage Brut Nature Rose 2015
(Champagne, France) - [JS 95] [WS 94] [WA 94] [VM 94]

About the Winery:
Louis Roederer has been synonymous with the world's great Champagnes since 1776, and it is one of the rare family owned companies, which is still managed by the Roederer family today. They are also one of the only French champagne producers to own nearly 75 percent of the grapes in the most desirable vineyards in the Champagne. The property is located on 450 acres in the finest villages of Montagne de Reims, Côtes des Blancs, and Valleé de la Marne. Each region is selected to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with the elegance needed for perfectly balanced champagne. The Louis Roederer vineyards rate an average 98 percent based on France’s statutory 100-point classification scale.

Louis Roeder has been collaborating with designer Philippe Starck for a number of vintages now. Sharing Philippe Starck’s “less is more” vision, illustrated by the purity and understated elegance inherent in all his designs, the Louis Roederer Champagne House set out to capture this ideal of joyful simplicity. Minimizing one’s footprint to maximize flavor, while optimizing resources and energy and evoking emotion through suggestion rather than imposition – this is the vision in which the creator and the Cellar Master found common ground and a shared sensibility. “Our thoughts converged” he recalls. “If the future is about restraint, then how can we achieve more with less?”

Vintage:
An extraordinary vintage which is also the year in which the Champagne region was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site! 2015 followed the continental trend of that decade: a mild, wet winter and a hot, dry summer. The summer, hot and sunny, brought record-breaking temperatures and water stress. The second half of August brought some very welcome rain, giving the vines some much needed relief. Thanks to this fresh finish, the vines produced juicy, ripe and concentrated grapes. Our ambition for this vintage? To capture the concentration which is the hallmark of this spectacular vintage.

Tasting Notes:
Pink hue with bright, fresh tints and generous, slow moving bubbles. The deep Pinot noir bouquet is a blend of delicate citrus notes (Etna blood oranges), red fruit (blackcurrants) and spice (a touch of camphor). After aeration, the red fruit becomes intertwined with notes of honey and gingerbread. On entry, the wine is juicy, fruity, concentrated and palate-coating. The sun-drenched fruit and its slightly sweet texture give one the impression of biting into a perfectly ripe blackberry. The wine shows remarkable poise thanks to the sensual, almost powdery texture that balances the zero dosage. The end palate reveals slightly spicy (camphor), smoky (bacon) and iodised notes that usher in a sensation of Umami.

ORIGIN: “La Rivière” vineyards
CRU: Cumières
GRAPE VARIETIES: Pinot noir infusion for 5 days followed by the addition of field blend juices: 20% infused Pinot noir + 80% Brut Nature White juices.
Co-fermentation with the following final blend:
50% Pinot noir
37% Chardonnay
13% Meunier
WINE IN OAK: 11%
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION: 30%
DOSAGE: 0g/ l

Ratings & Reviews

95 Points - James Suckling:
"Who says that Brut Nature lacks joy? Here’s the proof that this is not always the case! Wonderful pure red berry and nectarine fruit that leaps out of the glass at you. Wonderfully fleshy and juicy for a Brut Nature, and this carries through the long finish. A field blend of the three classic Champagne varieties from a south-facing site in Cumieres. 20% of the cuvee is pinot noir and they did a pre-fermentation cold soak to extract the color. From biodynamically grown grapes." (Jul 2023)

94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:

“To produce the 2015 Brut Nature Rosé, Lécaillon and his team picked the ripest Pinot Noir in Roederer's holdings in lieu-dit Les Chèvres a week before the rest of their fruit there, macerating it at low temperature for four to five days before adding some 20% of this Pinot Noir to the same base that produces the regular Brut Nature. Delivering aromas of peach, clear honey, freshly baked bread and almond paste, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a rich, vinous profile, racy acids and a long, chalky finish. This has always been a structured wine, but in 2015, that structure is cloaked in more flesh and texture.”

94 Points - Vinous:
“The 2015 Brut Rosé Nature is stellar. What a wine. Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon and his team capture a striking interplay of richness and drive, but with softer contours than the first few vintages of this wine. All of the personality of Cumières comes through in this wonderfully savory, mineral Rosé. Dried rose petal, chalk, mint and white pepper lend brilliancy that carries through to the intensely mineral finish.”

94 Points & Highly Recommended - Wine Spectator:
"A vivacious rosé, with a minerally overtone and a well-meshed range of crunchy pear, peach skin, pickled ginger and blood orange zest flavors set on a refined, lacy mousse. Ends with a long, creamy finish. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Drink now through 2032. 400 cases imported." – Alison Napjus (Nov 2022)

93 Points - James Suckling:

“Plenty of biscuit, pie crust, lemon pie, praline and hazelnut, as well as hints of toffee, cream and salted butter. Vibrant and sharp, but with lovely butter and brioche character and tight bubbles. So delicious. Wonderful balance of freshness and creaminess. Chardonnay from Avize. Drink or hold.”