Louis Roederer Camille Volibarts Chardonnay Coteaux Champenois Blanc 2023

Louis Roederer Camille Volibarts Chardonnay Coteaux Champenois Blanc 2023 is crafted from 100% Chardonnay sourced from historic 55-year-old vines in Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger. This single-vineyard wine reflects the unique terroir, with its southeast-facing plot benefiting from ancient chalk soils. Aged for 16 months on fine and gross lees in a combination of new barrels and sandstone tanks, it offers a complex profile with mineral freshness and a finely balanced structure. Blend: 100% Chardonnay.

As the largest independent family-managed Champagne producer, Louis Roederer rank amongst the region's absolute finest. Established in 1776, the House is currently managed by seventh generation family member Frédéric Rouzaud alongside long-time Chef de Cave and Champagne legend Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. Today, Champagne Louis Roederer own an astounding 240 hectares of vineyards in the very best locations that cover two-thirds of their grape requirements and are pioneers in biodynamic farming, having converted a total of 78-hectares to accommodate production using biodynamic methods. Their portfolio begins with Brut Premier, one of Champagne's most seductive non-vintage cuvées and ends with Cristal, perhaps the world's most recognised prestige cuvée 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 25 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.

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. Inspired by the remarkable quality of a surviving 1961 vintage. This 0.55-hectare, southeast-facing parcel sits on poor, ancient soils where low vine vigour and slow growth lead to a later harvest. The extended ripening allows skins and seeds to fully mature, giving the wine a distinctive tannic structure and a finely balanced profile.

Weather: 2023 was a predominantly oceanic year in which the soils played a central role, with the remarkable chalk able to buffer the extremes of the weather.

Technical Information:
Grape: 100% Chardonnay from “historic” 55 yo vines in the 0.55 acre plot lieu-dit in Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger
Lieu-dit: Volibarts
Planting date: 1997
Ageing: 16 months on the fine and gross lees. 46% new barrels, 43% sandstone tanks & 11% barrels previously used for two fills
Bottling date: 4th March 2025
Wine Growing: Organic

Comes in wooden box when purchased as 3*75cl

Tasting Note: Delectable bouquet of harvested grain, toasted sesame, toasted hazelnut and praline, followed by notes of wet chalk and pollen, typical of Chardonnays grown on the chalky soils of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The palate is wrapped with notes of bright, roasted fruit (candied citrus) and the ever-present floral notes of pollen. Its texture is oily, velvety, compact and silky, with good concentration. The freshness is mineral and chalky, with a slightly tannic, mouthwatering quality. The balance is outstanding - delicious and saline - with concentration and finesse in perfect harmony.