Coteaux Champenois from Champagne
Champagne is 300 kilometres north of Burgundy where Chardonnay and Pinot Noir thrive producing richly flavoured still red and white wines. Those few hundred km’s make quite a difference and sparkling wine is best suited to the cooler Champagne region. A few have made still wines in Champagne called Coteaux Champenois or Champagne Hillsides, typically in the warmer years when the grapes get a little more ripe. Louis Roederer set out on their mission more than 15 years ago by identifying specific plots and altering pruning and training to give wines of the vitality and finesse in a single-varietal and single-vineyard wine with an identity of its own.
Tribute to Camille Orly-Roederer
Paying tribute to the great grandmother of the family, Camille Orly-Roederer, Frederic Rouzaud decided to dedicate this collection of single- vineyard still wines to her in admiration of her bold character, bright personality and exceptional tenacity whilst keeping in touch with their core values… Innovation, vision and progress; therefore calling the latest collection – “Hommage à Camille.”
Louis Roederer said its new collection of still wines constitutes ‘a different expression of Champagne terroirs’ by pushing back the boundaries of the usual winegrowing practice in champagne, labelling it a “continuation of a quest for a totally different expression of the Champagne terroirs first initiated by Camille Olry-Roederer. It is a tribute to the bold spirit of this remarkable woman who left her mark on our Champagne House.”
Terroirs
Their mission is to show the champagne terroirs in a new light, to surprise, to innovate and to ascertain the full potential of the terroir and highlight “this choreography between Man and Nature.” A long time in the planning, the house describes the cuvées as “an exciting representation of the vitality and finesse of Louis Roederer’s wines in a single-varietal and single vineyard wine with an identity of its own.”
The Red & White Wines
Roederer announced the two new single-vineyard wines earlier this week.
- Camille Charmont 2018 – 100% Pinot Noir from a 0.43 acre plot Charmont lieu-dit in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ
- Camille Volibarts 2018 – 100% Chardonnay from “historic” 55 yo vines in the 0.55 acre plot lieu-dit in Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger
Tasting Notes By Essi Avellan MW:
Louis Roederer Hommage à Camille Coteaux Champenois Rouge 2018
“The youthful, already expressively fragrant nose captures the pretty, perfumy nuances of Pinot Noir. There is rare delicacy to the nose, which is very much on the red fruit side with sweet rose petal notes adding to the charm. The oakiness is light and seamlessly integrated to the ethereal fruitiness. The driven yet silky palate comes with rare vivacity and tension. A gentle bite of fine-grained tannin brings grip to the chalky mineral finish. Highly primary still with a promise of more aromatic complexity.”
93→94/100 Essi Avellan MW
Whilst the Chardonnay reveals its subtle character and provides texture and structure distinctive to Champenois. Having brought this wine closer to the sun, closer to its chalky soils, they were able to reproduce the very essence of its terroir and climat.
Louis Roederer Hommage à Camille Coteaux Champenois Blanc 2018
“The reserved nose gives an instant chalky whiff. The cool and crunchy Chardonnay fruitiness is mild coming with an elegant floral twist backed up by refined oaky tones. There is roundness to the texture but the breezy salinity is distinctively Champenois. A subtle and delicate whole.”
91→93/100 Essi Avellan MW
The wines are just released in March 2021 with just 1,631 bottles of the Pinot Noir and 2,880 bottles of the Chardonnay – they will be very scarce!
