2010 Louis Roederer Rose

The 2010 vintage was not suitable to produce a Cristal or a Vintage, but it was good enough to create the rich and full-bodied 2010 Brut Vintage Rosé; this Champagne blends truly ripe and concentrated Pinot Noir from south-facing, wind-protected plots on clay and chalk soils in Cumières with the freshness, elegance and finesse of Chardonnay from north-facing vineyards in Chouilly (Côte des Blancs). "Since we are looking for round and silky tannins, we need to have ripe fruits," says Lécaillon. That's why he produces his Pinot-like red wine, which means high density plantings (10,000 to 12,000 mass selection vines per hectare), short pruning, leaf removal already ten days after the flowering, sorting table, cold maceration with 5-10% of the stems and a very reduced extraction. After ten days, the must is racked and blended with the juice of Chardonnay. "The idea is to 'acidify' our Pinot Noir, which has ripe fruit with soft and silky tannins but low acidity," explains Lécaillon. The resulting blend (65% Pinot and 35% Chardonnay) was partly raised in large oak casks and 20% underwent malolactic fermentation. The 2010 is round, dry and elegant, with a silky texture and ripe and intense fruit flavors. It has fine grip and stimulating freshness in the finish. This is an excellent Rosé.

The pale-colored 2010 Rosé is striking. Finely cut and chiseled in style, the 2010 delivers striking precision to match its focused, mid-weight personality. Rose petal, cranberry and white pepper are some of the signatures. The 2010 is a bit austere, but it has classical sense of austerity. Drink this feminine, lithe Rosé over the next few years.

I last tasted the 2010 vintage of Louis Roederer Brut Rosé Millésime in the early summer of 2015 and was very happy to see how the wine was evolving almost a year and a half later. This vintage is produced from its classic house blend of seventy percent pinot noir from the village of Cumières and thirty percent chardonnay from the village of Cuis (which adds a fine spine of acidity to the blend). The color on this bottling is still very pale and copper-salmon in hue, with the complex bouquet starting to blossom nicely and offering up a very elegant blend of tangerine, white cherries, a lovely base of limestone soil, fresh-baked bread, hints of the smokiness to come, gentle spice tones and orange blossoms in the upper register. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with a fine core, elegant mousse, bright acids and lovely focus and grip on the long and complex finish. This is drinking with great style today, but is still a puppy and will be even better with some extended bottle age. Nov 2016, www.viewfromthecellar.com, Drink: 2016-2035.