Louis Roederer Collection 243 Brut, Champagne, France (750ml)

WINEMAKER'S NOTES:

Bright, golden hue with shimmering highlights. Fine, lively mousse with lingering threads of bubbles. The bouquet is open and rich yet also wonderfully fresh. It offers an explosion of ripe, delicate fruit with intense notes of yellow fruit (Mirabelle plum) from the pinot noir complemented by sweet citrus fruits (lemon meringue pie) and delicate notes of white flowers (jasmine) from the chardonnay. The nose opens up to reveal autolytic characters and evolves towards smoky, roasted notes and freshly baked pastries. The palate is deep and dense with a big, well-structured backbone. The texture is simply mesmerizing with its fleshy mouthfeel from the pinot noir that coats the palate before giving way to an incredible saline freshness with a pleasant hint of bitterness. This wine combines the strength, intensity and power of the delectably ripe pinot noirs which are balanced to perfection by the chalky freshness and density from the chardonnay which forms the majority of the blend. Collection has all its warmth and generosity thanks to the perfect ripeness of the fruit harvested in the 2018 vintage, yet it is the freshness, energy and complexity of the 'Réserve Perpétuelle' created in 2012, as well as the texture imparted by the oak ageing, that extend and elongate the wines' body resulting in unrivalled finesse and persistence.

Blend: 42% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, 18% Pinot Meuier

TASTING NOTES:

Dried-lemon, apricot, green-apple, salted-almond, walnut and light caramel notes. Vinous and layered, with small and tight bubbles. Excellent focus and intensity. Based on 2018, with reserve wines going back to 2009. Dosage 8g/L. Drink now.

- James Suckling, 94 pts. 

The NV Champagne Collection 243 Brut is the third release and is based on the 2018 vintage, with the addition of 30% of the perpetual reserve started in 2012 and 10% reserve wine that has been aged in oak. It is ripe and balanced, with yellow flowers, honeycomb, and plum, and it has elegant concentration and underlying tension, precise mousse, and rich salinity, with lingering notes of croissant and delicate smoke. This will be an exciting wine in the range to follow. Best after 2022.

- Jeb Dunnuck, 93 pts. 

Based on the 2018 vintage and complemented by reserve wines from a solera established in 2012, as well as younger foudre-aged reserve wines, Roederer's newly released NV Brut Collection 243 is a pillowy, enveloping Champagne evocative of crisp stone fruits, honeycomb, white flowers and buttery pastry. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and generous, with an ample core of fruit, bright acids and a saline finish, it will offer demonstrative drinking on release.

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 pts.