Louis Roederer - Brut Champagne 2016 (750ml)
Shimmering golden hue with bright highlights. Very fine, even and fast-flowing bubbles. The gently toasted and powdery bouquet discloses a blend of ripe, sweet, juicy red fruit (Burlat cherry and redcurrant jam foam), candied, roasted citrus fruit, and dried nuts (hazelnuts) wrapped in soft roasted notes. After a short aeration, the wine reveals notes of a more mineral nature: warm, damp chalk and calcareous millstone heated by the sun. The palate is complex, generous and kaleidoscopic. It commences with a juicy, creamy body in which the ripe fruit comes through again in the form of nectarine. It is like biting into the fruit! The creamy, silky bubbles dance lightly across the palate and tongue, drawing out and lengthening the creamy substance leaving a rich yet translucent imprint. We have the impression of completeness created by some mineral and textured elements, which are underpinned by spicy, oaky, powdery and almost camphorous notes. The finish is long, textured, saline and sapid.
Louis Roederer Description
The 2016 vintage was characterised by particularly marked weather variations: spring was cool, wet and relatively late whereas summer was warm and dry with a heatwave in late August followed by dry and sunny weather over the harvest period which was highly beneficial to the ripening of the grapes. Our Pinot noirs thrived in these dry, sunny conditions and the heat has given them an intensely fruity character and silky smooth texture. The Chardonnays are just as outstanding although more chiselled and saline in character.
James Suckling: 96 Points
Complex nose of restrained strawberries and lemon zest, with macerated flowers and shortbread. Full body and plenty of concentration, with pinprick mousse, long and chewy, integrated acidity and amazing length. Pinot noir and chardonnay. Drink or hold.
Wine Enthusiast: 95 Points
Editors’ Choice
Produced from the first vineyard acquired by Roederer in 1841, this Champagne shows the beginnings of maturity as well as ripe, fresh apple fruit flavors. An aroma of toast mingled with kiwi fruits gives a finely balanced wine now ready to drink.
Wine Spectator: 94 Points
A seamless Champagne, deftly knitting flavors of crushed black raspberry, tangerine peel, chalk and Marcona almond with the fine china–like acidity and satiny mousse. The graceful balance gives this an effortless feel, but there's intensity and drive to this well-tailored version. Long and fragrant on the finish, with hints of ground ginger, blood orange zest and mineral. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Vinous: 93 Points
The 2016 Vintage is terrific. Rich, creamy and super-expressive, the 2016 is an absolute delight. All this fruit is from Roederer's La Montagne estate, with Pinot Noir very much driving the blend. That comes through in a Champagne of notable textural resonance and breadth that grows with air. Hints of apricot, plum, spice and dried flowers caress the palate, all framed by a discreet touch of oak and an extra kick of texture from a few lots (5%) that underwent malolactic fermentation. This is a superb edition of the Vintage. The blend is 68% Pinot Noir and 32% Chardonnay. Here, the richness of the warm summer very much comes through. Dosage is 7 grams per liter.
Wine Advocate: 93 Points
Louis Roederer's 2016 Brut Vintage is derived primarily from Pinot Noir from Verzy and incorporates 32% Chardonnay from Chouilly, though this is about to change with the 2019 release, when it will become a pure Verzy, giving stronger identity to the village. The soil here is rich in clay, and the slopes face east, explains Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon. Disgorged in June 2024 with seven grams per liter dosage, it wafts from the glass with a bouquet of juicy pear, red berries, hazelnut and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and textural, it has a slightly richer core of fruit compared to the more delicate and citrusy Blanc de Blancs and will richly reward a few additional years under cork.
