As the largest independent family-managed Champagne producer, Louis Roederer rank amongst the region's absolute finest. Established in 1776, the House today is managed by seventh generation family member Frédéric Rouzaud alongside long-time Chef de Cave and Champagne legend Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. They own an astounding 242 hectares of vineyards many in chalk rich Grand Cru villages covering two-thirds of their grape requirements. Roederer have become pioneers in biodynamic farming & by 2012 all 78 hectares the “Cristal Estates” are farmed using biodynamic methods. By 2021 Roederer have 115 hectares certified organic. All the grapes in Cristal & other vintage cuvee’s come from their own vineyards. The estate is made up of 410 plots which are fermented separately in one of the 450 stainless steel tanks in their Reims cellars. In 2020 Roederer replaced Brut Premier with “Collection” allowing each years non-vintage blend to be identified and “re-engineering” the non-vintage cuvee to maintain freshness in the light of global warming on the Champagne region. Today Cristal is, widely recognised as the world's most awarded prestige cuvée champagne.

In September 2021 Collection 242 was launched, replacing Brut Premier. The idea behind Collection 242 was to address the impact in champagne of global warming, "fighting for freshness" is how Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon described his mission in creating this new champagne. He set about his task in 2013 building a perpetual reserve, adding into it only those wines that displayed those fresh and minerally characters. He also increased the oak reserves, similar to how we use spices in a kitchen. The end result is the perpetual reserve is the "freshening element" and 34% of the blend, 10% oak reserve wines and 56% from the 2017 harvest. The Collection number represents the number of times they have made a non vintage since the inception of the house in 1776. Here you can find an in depth article about this new cuvee.

Weather 2017, the base vintage for Collection 242, was a year of living dangerously! An exceptionally warm and dry winter and spring, but the latter brought severe frosts from 17 to 29 April, setting the sorry record for 12 nights of frost. These were followed by a dull, wet and not particularly hot summer, which ended in an almost tropical spell at the end of August. This sudden change led to a significant increase in grey rot on the ripening Pinot noir and Meunier grapes. The harvest was fast-paced and completed very quickly demanding precise and methodical selection work, of an unprecedented level even for Roederer. The harvest took place from the 31st August to the 9th September 2017.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand & Premier Cru | 33% La Riviere | 33% La Montagne | 33% La Cote
Grape Varieties: 36% Pinot Noir, 42% Chardonnay, 22% Meunier
Reserve Wines aged in oak: 10% from 2009, 11, 13, 14, 15 & 16
Perpetual reserve wines: 34% from 2012, 13, 14, 15 & 16
Lees Ageing: 3 years
Current base vintage: 2017
Disgorged: June 2021
Dosage: 8 g/l
Drink: Now for 8+ years

Tasting Note: Fine bubbles and a nose of fresh fruit and hawthorn. The inclusion of reserve wines gives it the complexity and roundness characteristic of Louis Roederer champagnes. Smooth, complex palate mingling flavours of apple and pear with blackberries, raspberries and cherries. This is a structured and elegantly mature wine, lively on the mouth with a smooth palate.

Louis Roederer Collection 242 NV comes in lightweight antique-coloured bottles that filter out nearly 100 percent of light.