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90POINTS
16½/20
Champagne Louis Roederer Collection 243 NV
Champagne, FranceAlways at the forefront of Champagne, Louis Roederer moved from their NV Brut to the MV Collection series in 2021, referencing the number of years since the winery was founded. This ingenious approach allows the master chef de cave Jean-Baptiste Lecallion to blend the best parts of each vintage along with a generous amount of reserve wines. 243 is based on the generous 2018 vintage (59%), along with 31% perpetual reserve (2012 through 2017) and 10% cask aged reserve wines from 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. The fruit is a mix of estate and grower, and breaks down into equal thirds La Rivière, La Montagne, and La Côte vineyards. This year, it resulted in a mix of 42% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot noir, and 18% Meunier. 26% underwent MLF, and after a quick scan of the code on the back of the bottle, I can see my exact bottle was disgorged March 2022 with 8 g/L, released into the world in September 2022. This is a wine for everyone: friendly and welcoming with its elevated dosage, toasted brioche, and gentle yellow fruit, yet structured and bright with crisp green and red apple, lemon, kisses of anise, and shining acidity. I love the nod to the house's history with the new Collection system, deftly tying in tradition with the modern, progressive stylings of this wine. I love even more how transparent this wine is, revealing details about provenance and production for those who care to know (me!). Very smart, and another big win for this impressive producer.Tasted: 19 March 2023Tasted by: Treve RingPrices:| BC | $90.00 | 750ml | BCLS |
Blend: Chardonnay - Pinot Noir - Pinot Meunier
