Louis Roederer Vintage Brut 2016
(Champagne, France) - [JS 96] [TWI 95+] [WE 95] [JD 95] [WS 94]

Fascinated by the diversity of aromas expressed by the Pinot Noir variety in Champagne, Louis Roederer decided to base its Vintage Brut on the structure and power of the Montagne de Reims Pinot Noirs—speficially in the cru of Verzy. These north-easterly facing vineyards take longer to ripen, producing wines that can sometimes be rough and confined at the start of the maturing process. However, their personality develops remarkably, becoming more intense over time when matured in wood. The Chardonnay is sourced from estate vineyards in the Côte des Blancs cru of Chouilly.

In 1850, Roederer decided to buy over 37 acres in the Verzenay Grand Cru in order to have better control over how the grapes in this cuvée were used. Today, the House's 600 acres of estate vineyards are located in the best exposures throughout the region and are farmed using organic and biodynamic practices.

Winemaking
The wine, 33% of which is vinified in oak casks and 5% of which undergoes malolactic fermentation, is aged for 4 years in the cellars and left for a minimum of 6 months after disgorging to attain the perfect maturity. The dosage is 7 g/l.

Harvests from September 15th to October 1st, 2016.

Tasting Notes
Shimmering golden hue with bright highlights. Very fine, even and fast-flowing bubbles. The gently toasted and powdery bouquet discloses a blend of ripe, sweet, juicy red fruit (Burlat cherry and redcurrant jam foam), candied, roasted citrus fruit, and dried nuts (hazelnuts) wrapped in soft roasted notes. After a short aeration, the wine reveals notes of a more mineral nature: warm, damp chalk and calcareous millstone heated by the sun. The palate is complex, generous and kaleidoscopic. It commences with a juicy, creamy body in which the ripe fruit comes through again in the form of nectarine. It is like biting into the fruit! The creamy, silky bubbles dance lightly across the palate and tongue, drawing out and lengthening the creamy substance leaving a rich yet translucent imprint. We have the impression of completeness created by some mineral and textured elements, which are underpinned by spicy, oaky, powdery and almost camphorous notes. The finish is long, textured, saline and sapid.

Harvest Notes
The 2016 vintage was characterized by particularly marked weather variations: spring was cool, wet and relatively late whereas summer was warm and dry with a heatwave in late August followed by dry and sunny weather over the harvest period which was highly beneficial to the ripening of the grapes. Our Pinot noirs thrived in these dry, sunny conditions and the heat has given them an intensely fruity character and silky smooth texture. The Chardonnays are just as outstanding although more chiselled and saline in character.

Varietals: 68% Pinot Noir, 32% Chardonnay
Dosage: 7 g/L

Ratings & Reviews

96 Points - James Suckling:
Complex nose of restrained strawberries and lemon zest, with macerated flowers and shortbread. Full body and plenty of concentration, with pinprick mousse, long and chewy, integrated acidity and amazing length. Pinot noir and chardonnay. Drink or hold.

95+ Points - The Wine Independent:
The 2016 Vintage Brut is a blend of 68% Pinot Noir and 32% Chardonnay with 7 grams per liter of dosage. Only 5% of the blend underwent malo-lactic, and 33% of the base wines were aged in French oak. Showy notes of Red Delicious apples, ripe pears, honeycomb, and cashews prance out of the glass, giving way to underlying orange blossom and fresh ginger scents. To its credit, the palate is on the dry side, with its sweetness coming from ripe fruit as opposed to added dosage, offset by supportive yet skillfully balanced acidity, showcasing the ripe, nuanced, seductive fruit, finishing long and creamy. More gregarious than its 2016 Cristal counterpart, this is a flamboyant yet age-worthy Vintage Brut. Love it.

95 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:

The 2016 Champagne Vintage Brut is the new release and is composed of 70% Pinot Noir from Verzy and the rest Chardonnay from Chouilly. A slightly richer golden straw hue, it has a floral bouquet on the nose and is a very pretty vintage of this wine aromatically. It’s sappy with lemon confit and is salty throughout the palate, revealing the weight of the Pinot Noir but retaining wonderful freshness. This lovely wine is going to take some time to open aromatically, but it’s going to be worth the wait. Drink it over the coming 15 years. It’s a going to be a stunning wine for pairings. 7 gram per liter dosage in this wine and in the collection.

95 Points - Wine Enthusiast:

Produced from the first vineyard acquired by Roederer in 1841, this Champagne shows the beginnings of maturity as well as ripe, fresh apple fruit flavors. An aroma of toast mingled with kiwi fruits gives a finely balanced wine now ready to drink.

94 Points - Wine Spectator:

A seamless Champagne, deftly knitting flavors of crushed black raspberry, tangerine peel, chalk and Marcona almond with the fine china–like acidity and satiny mousse. The graceful balance gives this an effortless feel, but there's intensity and drive to this well-tailored version. Long and fragrant on the finish, with hints of ground ginger, blood orange zest and mineral. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2040.

93+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:

Louis Roederer's 2016 Brut Vintage is derived primarily from Pinot Noir from Verzy and incorporates 32% Chardonnay from Chouilly, though this is about to change with the 2019 release, when it will become a pure Verzy, giving stronger identity to the village. The soil here is rich in clay, and the slopes face east, explains Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon. Disgorged in June 2024 with seven grams per liter dosage, it wafts from the glass with a bouquet of juicy pear, red berries, hazelnut and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and textural, it has a slightly richer core of fruit compared to the more delicate and citrusy Blanc de Blancs and will richly reward a few additional years under cork. 2025-2040.