Louis Roederer - Collection 246 NV (750ml)
Price: $65.99
| Producer | Louis Roederer |
| Country | France |
| Region | Champagne |
| Varietal | Champagne |
| Sku | 7645 |
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This 246th blend from the Louis Roederer Champagne House expresses the freshness of the year and the precision and tension it brought. The Chardonnays, present in unusually high proportions in the blend, proved remarkably resilient, producing refined, elegant and saline grapes. The Pinots, though less powerful than usual, also captured the light, fresh character of the year. Collection 246 is thus a delicate and vibrant composition, reminiscent of the character of certain Blanc de Blancs champagnes.
Louis Roederer Description
Made up of 55% of the 2021 harvest, Collection 246 is an ode to taste and drinking pleasure. The Perpetual Reserve makes up 35% of the Collection 246 blend, providing balance and freshness. In parallel with the Perpetual Reserve, a significant proportion of wines from previous years and young plots on the Cristal estate, aged in French oak foudres, are added to the blend. These Reserve wines are Louis Roederer's signature and make up 10% of the Collection 246 blend.
Aged in our cellars for almost four years, Collection 246 is a champagne of freshness, vibrancy and ethereal finesse. Carried by the tension and balance of the vintage, the freshness of the Perpetual Reserve, and the complexity of the oak-aged reserve wines, it unfolds with grace and delicacy, revealing an accomplished fruit, evocative of mirabelle plum and candied citrus, complemented by a subtle touch of oak and charming toasted and iodised overtones.
Wine Spectator: 93 Points
A harmonious Champagne that shows impeccable balance, with depth and focus to its flavors of white cherry, Honeycrisp apple, tangerine peel and biscuit, while retaining vibrancy and grace. A chalky underpinning comes to the fore on the creamy finish, joining delicate spice and floral accents. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier.
Vinous: 93 Points
The NV Brut Collection 246 is positively stellar. It's a terrific example of where Roederer is going with this cuvee stylistically. Brisk saline notes cut through a core of orchard fruit, mint, white pepper and slate. There are no hard angles or awkward contours. The 246 is based on 2021, an extremely tricky vintage for Champagne. Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon bumped up the percentage of Chardonnay considerably and focused on Pinots from the Montagne de Reims. About 30% of the lots underwent malolactic fermentation to soften the edges. Twenty-four percent of the wines were fermented in oak, the rest in tank. The 246 is a blend of 55% base 2021 vintage wines described above, plus 30% perpetual reserve going back to 2012 (mostly from Cumieres, Vertus and Verzy) in tank and 10% young-vine juice from Cristal plots aged in cask. The final blend is 54% Chardonnay (as opposed to the more typical 44%), 35% Pinot Noir and 11% Meunier. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. More importantly, the 246 is impeccably done and absolutely delicious.
James Suckling: 93 Points
This has pretty and elegant aromas of pears, apple blossoms, grapefruit and chalk. It’s silky, fresh and beautifully balanced on the palate, with very soft bubbles. Based on 2021, with reserve wine from a perpetual reserve created in 2012, plus reserve wines kept in oak from 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Drink now.
