Roederer

The house Louis Roederer

The house Louis Roederer has always enjoyed a reputation for consistently high quality. It is also considered one of the largest and financially strongest champagne houses. Louis Roederer is privately owned and has around 180 hectares of vineyards in the best strategic locations with an average quality rating of 98% (of which around 130 hectares are considered 100%).

With this remarkable base of its own vines, the House of Roederer is able to cover 70 to 80% of its requirements for over 2 million bottles per year and is also able to achieve a consistently high standard of quality.

Roederer also insists on long storage of its reserve wines (sorted by cru) in large Limousin oak barrels (so-called foudres, which hold 4,000-5,000 litres of wine each) and in around 240 stainless steel tanks (9,960 litres each - also sorted by cru). These large oak barrels are used for up to 60 years.

Roederer pays particular attention to the final dosage of the reserve wines. Although the dosage is only a tiny amount of wine, this small addition of special wine can have a lasting effect on the flavour of a champagne, even at 1%. Roederer therefore attaches great importance to the fine art of blending, right down to the last detail of production, the dosage.

Den Champagnern ohne Jahrgang kommen großzügige drei bis vier Jahre Lagerung in den Flaschen zugute. Jahrgangs-Champagner wiederum genießen mindestens fünf bis sechs Jahre Lagerung. Zusätzlich kommen bei Roederer-Champagnern ca. sechs Monate ‚Flaschenruhe‘ nach dem Degorgieren hinzu. Durchschnittlich ruhen ca. 6 Mio. Flaschen Champagne gemächlich auf der Hefe in den kühlen Kellern des Hauses. Dies trägt zu einer Reihe außerordentlich guter Champagner bei – vom jahrgangslosen Brut Premier bis hin zum berühmten Prestige Cuvée Cristal.

The House of Louis Roederer is deeply rooted in the history of Champagne:

Although the official year of foundation is given as 1776, the author and historian Tom Stevenson notes that the origin could be found as early as 1760 in a Champagne house called Dubois Père et Fils, which later came into the possession of a Nicolas-Henri Schreider.

In 1827, Mr Schreider employed his capable nephew Louis Roederer (1798-1870) in his company. When Schreider died six years later, Louis Roederer renamed the company Roederer. He soon succeeded in opening up new markets in America and England. He was also able to win over the Russian Tsar Alexander I for his excellent champagnes. The champagne of the time was very sweet by today's standards, but the Tsar preferred champagne with no less than six times more sugar than is usual today.

After Roederer's death, his son Louis Roederer II took over the management of the now greatly expanded company in 1870. Alexander II was also enthusiastic about Roederer champagnes. The tsar's cellar master travelled to Reims every year to observe the production of the special champagnes for the tsar. At the same time, the political situation in Russia became increasingly difficult for the Tsar's family. Assassinations of members of the tsar's family and the nobility became more frequent in Russia.

This may have contributed to the fact that the Tsar's cellar master paid particular attention to a transparent champagne bottle from the house of Mercier, originally designed by Eugene Mercier especially for Napoleon III for a special wine (Réserve de l'Empereur Blanche). By using such a bottle, the Tsar would be able to visually inspect the contents of the bottle and thus be more likely to avoid an assassination attempt by poisoned champagne.

In 1876, the House of Louis Roederer supplied the Tsar with champagne for the first time in these special bottles made of clear crystal glass and with a flat base (the tradition-conscious House of Roederer still supplies its famous Cristal champagnes in transparent bottles without an indentation at the base).

In any case, a champagne bottle made of robust crystal glass does not need the typical indentation (or indentation at the bottom) of a conventional champagne bottle, which has the task of strengthening the bottle and is necessary for stacking sur pointes (on the tips). There is also an old rumour that the royal court in Russia was concerned that the indentation could have been used to conceal a small explosive device. The champagne in the new crystal bottles from Louis Roederer was enthusiastically received by the Tsar's court. It developed into a bestseller, which only came to an abrupt end a long time later, shortly after the October Revolution in Russia (1917).

Louis Roederer II died unexpectedly in 1880 and his sister Léonie Orly took over the reins until she herself died eight years later. On her deathbed, she asked her two sons, Léon Orly and Louis-Victor Orly, to add the surname Roederer to their names. At this time, the House of Louis Roederer was already supplying 2.5 million bottles of champagne per year. Not only to Russia, but also to the USA: Roederer was the third largest exporter of champagne to the USA at the time.

1917 saw an economic crisis for the House of Louis Roederer: the Russian Revolution caused it to lose 80% of the Russian market in one fell swoop. In addition, the new regime in Russia at the time had no interest in settling a large bill from the Tsar at Roederer. What made this unpleasant business circumstance even more threatening for the House of Roederer was a remaining huge stock of extremely highly sweetened champagne for which no customers could now be found. In the end, the house was able to sell a huge consignment of this sweet champagne, which had actually been produced for the Tsar's court, to South America.

Léon Orly-Roederer died in 1932. His widow Camille Orly-Roederer took the reins of the House of Louis Roederer for the next 42 years. Her ambition and clever marketing expanded existing market shares, repeatedly opened up new international markets for Roederer champagnes and expanded the vineyard holdings of the house in the 1930s.

Today, the enterprising Widow Orly-Roederer is historically mentioned in the same breath as the famous Widows Clicquot and Bollinger. After the Second World War, the famous Prestige Cuvée Cristal champagne was reintroduced, but this fantastic Cuvee was now spared the enormous sweetening that was used for the Tsar at the time.

Madame Orly-Roederer died in 1975 and left the champagne house to her daughter, Madame Marcelle Rouzaud
and her son Jean-Claude Rouzaud, who continues to run the company successfully to this day.

Jean-Claude Rouzaud has long been regarded as a perfectionist when it comes to the champagnes of his house. His guiding principle is undoubtedly 'quality before quantity'. As a trained oenologist, for example, he deliberately avoided certain methods of fertilising his vineyards, which would have resulted in far higher yields and therefore more champagne.

The harsh terroir of Champagne has always made the vines suffer: The vines have always had to work hard with their roots, but this is precisely what gives their golden blood its unique flavour. Although more fertiliser results in more vine quantity, the flavour qualities of the vines change at the same time. In addition, Jean-Claude Rouzaud maintains a delicate balance between his enormous reserves of long-stored wines and the young wines that are added in order to always have full control over the proper blending of future champagnes. Jean-Claude Rouzaud has also been responsible for the additional expansion of Roederer's vineyard estates in Champagne and has also purchased vineyards in Australia, Portugal and northern California. In the Anderson Valley in California, for example, Roederer has already produced fantastic sparkling wines under the name Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley L'Ermitage, which have amazed wine lovers in America. His son Frédéric, now the sixth generation of the family, has been actively involved in the company since 1996.

Roederer produces various champagnes, each of which has its own unique identity. In general, the house's champagnes are considered by connoisseurs to be particularly fruity and full-bodied with a wide range of aromatic subtleties. The generous enrichment of the blends with precious reserve wines from Roederer's large wooden barrels lends additional vanilla and honey notes.

In contrast to many other champagnes, Roederer champagnes also have the reputation of being able to be stored (properly) for a particularly long time after purchase. Many connoisseurs believe they have a favourable ageing potential. Some connoisseurs are not afraid to suggest up to 15 years of ageing for certain Roederer champagnes. This does not mean, however, that ageable champagnes become 'better' in every case, but rather that champagnes of this type develop pleasing new sides to their personality with the years of ageing, while some other sides recede somewhat, without, however, changing the fundamental character of the champagne.

The 'flagship' of the house is the Louis Roederer Brut Premier. This is a vintage-free top champagne. It is made from approx. 62 - 65% Pinot Noir, approx. 8% Pinot Meunier and approx. 30% Chardonnay. The blend contains up to 20% old reserve wines.
This champagne is aged on the lees for up to four years and is characterised by its particularly fruity and full-bodied character (thanks to the abundance of Pinot Noir grapes). In addition, the blending with older reserve wines aged in oak barrels gives it pleasant vanilla nuances. This champagne is perfect for any occasion, whether as an excellent aperitif or as a fine accompaniment to a complete meal.

The Louis Roederer Carte Blanche is a demi-sec champagne, i.e. a champagne that is ideal with a dessert. Basically, it is also a fruity Brut Premier, but with a much higher residual sweetness. Although it is considered one of the best demi-sec champagnes, the production volume of this champagne is relatively small (and therefore rarely found in the wine trade).

The house's vintage champagne is known as Louis Roederer Brut Vintage (Milléssimé). The grape varieties used here are around 66% Pinot Noir and around 34% Chardonnay. The vintage champagnes are aged for at least five to six years in the cool cellars of Roederer. The Vintage Brut 1990 is considered outstanding. The 1993 vintage was initially categorised by some connoisseurs as still in need of ageing, but is now without doubt an excellent vintage champagne. Rich in fruit with floral notes, pronounced structure and reliably full-bodied, Louis Roederer vintage champagnes are an enjoyable choice for champagne lovers.

With Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs, the house plays one of its trump cards: its excellent 'connection' with countless Chardonnay vines in the very best locations in the Côte de Blancs (including 30 hectares of its own vineyards around the famous Avize and exclusive contracts for vineyards around Cramant)! These are also vintage champagnes (Milléssimé). All are very full-bodied and are suitable as a rich, powerful and fruity (sometimes with citrus and melon notes) accompaniment to almost any dish.

The Louis Roederer Vintage Brut Rosé (Milléssimé) is a vintage champagne made from approx. 70 - 80% Pinot Noir and approx. 20 - 30% Chardonnay. This is also a vintage champagne. Behind the soft, pale salmon colour lies a serious champagne with the intense fruit that only the best Pinot Noir vines deliver, and at the same time inspired by the elegance of the Chardonnay. The colour is achieved through traditional maceration or skilful maceration with the skin of the black Pinot Noir vines.

Which brings us to the famous Louis Roederer Cristal

The Cristal was already a much sought-after cuvée in the days of the Russian tsars. Today's prestige cuvée of the same name is produced with the same care by the House of Roederer as in earlier times (the author even suspects more care for us connoisseurs today than for the tsars back then!) Cristal champagnes are vintage champagnes made from around 50 - 60% Pinot Noir and around 40 - 50% Chardonnay. The House of Roederer uses only the choicest wines from its own crus for this top champagne.

After Jean-Claude Rouzaud and his renowned cellar masters, e.g. Jean Baptiste Lécaillon, have created a champagne of this type with an excellent assemblage, allowed this champagne to mature for a long time in the house and finally delivered it, connoisseurs are immediately found to purchase this champagne - often embedded in a box made of fine wood. The transparent bottles are also wrapped in special yellow cellophane, which absorbs up to 98% of ultraviolet radiation (harmful to champagne) from fluorescent lighting or sunlight (this cellophane protection should not be removed during storage!). Price reductions are very rare among merchants, as Cristal is already in very short supply and demand is high. The vines for Cristal come exclusively from Roederer's own vineyards. All vintages are outstandingly good and at the same time somewhat different in terms of personality. Cristal 1990, for example, comes across to the connoisseur as a very rich champagne, while Cristal 1993 appears much softer in direct comparison. However, both convince with elegant silkiness, a particularly fine expression of fruit and a hint of toasty flavour.

The Cristal Rosé Milléssimé is a great rarity and is considered by some connoisseurs to be the best rosé champagne ever. It was first introduced with the 1974 vintage. It is coloured by traditional maceration with the skins of dark vines. The grape varieties represented are approx. 70% Pinot Noir and approx. 30% Chardonnay. The 1988 vintage is considered to be exceptionally storable, very precious and still beguiles connoisseurs with its unrivalled beauty today.

Knowing the complex and expensive history of Louis Roederer champagnes, one might assume that they must be prohibitively expensive for 'mere mortal' champagne fans (of which the author of this report is one). Fortunately, this is not the case. The marvellous Roederer Brut Premier champagnes, for example, fit into any budget. Specialities such as Cristal are of course considerably more expensive, but being a czar is no longer a prerequisite for enjoying this top champagne.

 

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