This set of Champagne Louis Roederer’s current and new release reviews comes ahead of the forthcoming and much-anticipated release of the 2015 Cristal. In fact, most of these wines are reflections of the 2015 vintage, except Collection 243, which is based on the hot 2018 vintage, yet has a significant proportion—31%—of perpetual reserve (a solera-type blend) of 2012-2017 vintages. Another 10% comes from reserve wines aged in oak, including 2009, 2011, and 2013-2017 vintages. In this way, I found the fleshiness of the warmer 2018 vintage has been adeptly toned down, allowing the grace and sophistication of this consistent house to shine through.

Similar to 2018, 2015 was another relatively hot vintage for Champagne.

It was also very dry, except for rains in late August, and continued through harvest. While the showers were, on the one hand, a welcome relief for the parched vines, the warmer vintage spelled an early harvest, so the timing of the rains created a nail-biting situation with concerns of botrytis and dilution. Fortunately, neither appears to have impacted the quality of the emerging wines from this year. The greater challenge was toning down the riper signature of this hot vintage and crafting the caliber of graceful, multi-layered wines for which Roederer is embraced. 

Louis Roederer has managed both hot years—the 2018 in Collection 243 and the 2015 vintage releases—with commendable skill.

The wines certainly nod to the intensity and vibrancy from a warmer year, yet they maintain the subtle nuances of a Champagne house that kept its cool. The palate of the Cristal 2015 is an exercise in finesse, featuring very fine bubbles and fantastic intensity with a myriad of spice and floral nuances, finishing with impressive persistence and jaw-dropping poise. This is a style for those that embrace purity, soft-spoken expression, and impeccable crafting. It won’t disappoint those who love Champagne in its initial youthful perfume flushes, yet will undoubtedly reward the patient with a richer, toastier, more obvious, and opulent style with 5-10 years+ of cellaring.

Apart from the Cristal 2015, the real stand out for me was the 2015 Louis Roederer et Philippe Starck Brut Nature Rosé.

Previously, I’d preferred the Blanc version of this collaborative label, but the juxtaposition between the poise and the concentration of the pink 2015 blew me away. It possesses a tightly wound palate with great tension and dry, mineral-sprayed red berry and apple-inspired flavors, supported by exquisitely fine bubbles, delivering an impressively long, perfumed finish. Yes, it’s Brut Nature, so there’s no dosage here, yet there’s so much vibrant, intense fruit that you wouldn’t guess it. At under $100, this one comes highly recommended for summer festivities.

Happy Champagne hunting!