The Champagne Manufacturer Louis Roederer was founded in 1776 in Reims. Its cuvée is the Cristal.
Louis Roederer is an independent champagne producer.
The house of 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 approximately 180 hectares of vineyards in strategic prime locations with an average quality rating of 98% (of which approximately 130 hectares are considered 100%). With this remarkable base of its own vines, the House of Roederer is able to meet its own needs for over 2 million bottles per year at 70 to 80%, 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 (called foudres, which hold 4,000-5,000 liters of wine each) and in about 240 stainless steel tanks (9,960 liters each - also sorted by cru). These large oak barrels are used for up to 60 years. Roederer pays special 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 taste of a Champagne even at 1% proportion. The high art of assemblage is thus given the utmost importance at Roederer, right down to the last detail of production, the dosage. Non-vintage Champagnes benefit from a generous three to four years of aging in the bottles. Vintage champagnes, in turn, enjoy at least five to six years of storage. In addition, Roederer champagnes enjoy about six months of 'bottle rest' after disgorgement. On average, about 6 million bottles of Champagne rest leisurely on their lees in the house's cool cellars. This contributes to a range of exceptionally good champagnes - from the vintage-less Brut Premier to the famous Prestige Cuvée Cristal. The House of Louis Roederer is deeply rooted in the history of the Champagne Although the official year of foundation is 1776, author and historian Tom Stevenson notes that the origins could be found as early as 1760 in a champagne house called Dubois Père et Fils, which later became the property of one Nicolas-Henri Schreider. Mr. Schreider hired his capable nephew Louis Roederer (1798-1870) in his business in 1827. When Schreider died six years later, Louis Roederer renamed the house 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 for our modern taste, 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 traveled to Reims every year to observe the production of the special champagnes for the tsar. At the same time, things were becoming increasingly difficult politically for the tsar's family in Russia. Assassinations of members of the tsar's family and of the nobility became more frequent in Russia. This may have contributed to the tsar's cellar master paying special attention to a clear champagne bottle made by the House of Mercier, originally designed by Eugene Mercier specifically for Napoleon III for a special wine (Réserve de l'Empereur Blanche). By using such a bottle, the Czar would be able to visually inspect the contents of the bottle and thus be more likely to escape assassination by poisoned champagne. In 1876, the House of Louis Roederer supplied the tsar for the first time with champagne in these special bottles made of clear crystal glass and with a flat bottom (the tradition-conscious House of Roederer still delivers its famous Cristal champagnes in transparent bottles without an indentation at the bottom). In any case, a champagne bottle made of sturdy 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 tops). There also persists the old rumor that at the royal court in Russia there was concern that the indentation might 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 best-seller, which was to come to an abrupt end only 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 until she herself died eight years later. On her deathbed, she asked her two sons, Léon Orly and Louis-Victor Orly, to add the Roederer surname to their names. At that time, the House of Louis Roederer was already delivering 2.5 million bottles of champagne per year. Not only to Russia, but also to the U.S.: Roederer was then the third largest exporter of champagne to the U.S. In 1917, an economic crisis hit the House of Louis Roederer: it lost 80% of the Russian market in one fell swoop due to the Russian Revolution. In addition, the new regime in Russia at the time had no interest in settling a large account with Roederer from the Czar. What made this unpleasant business circumstance even more threatening for the House of Roederer was a remaining huge stock of extremely heavily sweetened champagne, for which no customers could now be found. In the end, the house was able to sell a huge shipment of these sweet champagnes, which had actually been produced for the Tsar's court, to South America after all. 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 doggedness and clever marketing expanded existing market shares, continually opened up new international markets for the House of Roederer's champagnes, and expanded the house's vineyard holdings in the 1930s. The enterprising widow Orly-Roederer is today 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, as it was then for the Tsar. In 1975, Madame Orly-Roederer died and left the champagne house to her daughter, Madame Marcelle Rouzaud and her son Jean-Claude Rouzaud, who successfully continues the company to this day. Jean-Claude Rouzaud has long been considered a perfectionist when it comes to the champagnes of his house. His guiding principle should be without any doubt 'quality before quantity'. As a trained oenologist, for example, he deliberately avoided certain fertilization methods in his vineyards, which would have resulted in far higher yields and thus produced more Champagne. The harsh terroir of Champagne has always made the vines suffer: The vines have always had to work hard to advance with their root systems, but this is precisely what causes the unique taste of their golden blood. More fertilizer results in more vine quantity, but the flavor qualities of the vines change in the same stroke. In addition, Jean-Claude Rouzaud maintains a delicate balance between his enormous reserves of long-stored wines and the young wines he adds, so as to always have full control in the proper blending of future champagnes. Jean-Claude Rouzaud has also been responsible for the additional expansion of Roederer's vineyard holdings in Champagne, as well as buying up vineyards in Australia, Portugal and northern California. In California's Anderson Valley, for example, Roederer has already produced fantastic sparkling wines called Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley L'Ermitage, leaving wine lovers in America in appreciative awe. 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. Roederer champagnes also have a reputation for being able to be stored (properly) for a particularly long time after purchase, unlike many other champagnes. Many connoisseurs attribute to them an advantageous aging potential. Some connoisseurs are not afraid to suggest up to 15 years of storage for certain Roederer champagnes. This does not mean, however, that ageable champagnes are in any case 'better' as a result, 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, but without changing the fundamental character of the champagne. The flagship of the house is the Louis Roederer Brut Premier. Here it concerns a vintageless top champagne. It is made from about 62 - 65% Pinot Noir, about 8% Pinot Meunier and about 30% Chardonnay. The blend contains up to 20% old reserve wines. This Champagne ages on its lees for up to four years and stands out (thanks to the richly represented Pinot Noir vines) as particularly fruity and full-bodied. In addition, it gains pleasant vanilla nuances through blending with older reserve wines aged in oak barrels. This champagne is suitable for any occasion, whether as an excellent aperitif or as a noble companion to a complete menu. The Louis Roederer Carte Blanche is a demi-sec champagne, that is, a champagne which is ideal with a dessert. Basically, it also represents a fruity Brut Premier, but with 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 rather rare to find in the wine trade). The house's vintage Champagne is known as Louis Roederer Brut Vintage (Milléssimé). Here, the grape varieties used are approximately 66% Pinot Noir and approximately 34% Chardonnay. The vintage champagnes benefit from at least five to six years of storage in the cool cellars of the Roederer house. The 1990 Vintage Brut is considered outstanding. The 1993 vintage was initially classified by some connoisseurs as still in need of storage, but now convinces without any doubt as an excellent vintage Champagne. Lush in fruit with floral notes, pronounced structure and reliably full-bodied, the Louis Roederer vintage champagnes represent an enjoyable choice for champagne lovers. With Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs, the house plays one of its trump cards: their excellent 'connection' with countless Chardonnay vines in absolutely best sites of the Côte de Blancs (including 30 hectares of 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 make a rich, powerful and fruity (some with citrus and melon notes) companion to almost any dish. Louis Roederer Vintage Brut Rosé (Milléssimé) represents a vintage Champagne, which is made from approximately 70 - 80% Pinot Noir and approximately 20 - 30% Chardonnay. This is also a vintage Champagne. Behind the soft, light salmon color is a serious Champagne with the intense fruit that only the best Pinot Noir vines can provide, and at the same time fueled by the elegance of Chardonnay. The color is achieved through traditional maceration, or skillful maceration with the skins of black Pinot Noir vines. Which brings us to the famous Louis Roederer Cristal: Cristal was a highly sought-after cuvée even in the days of Russian czars. 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 lovers of today than for the tsars back then!). Cristal champagnes are vintage champagnes made from about 50 - 60% Pinot Noir and about 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 kind with excellent assemblage, have given this champagne long storage in the house and have finally brought it to the delivery, immediately lovers find themselves to acquire this champagne -often embedded in a casket from noble wood-. The transparent bottles are also wrapped in special yellow cellophane, which absorbs up to 98% of ultraviolet radiation (harmful to a champagne) from fluorescent lighting or sunlight (this cellophane protection should not be removed during storage!). Discounts are considered very rare by distributors, as Cristal is very scarce anyway and demand is high. The vines for Cristal are all from Roederer's own vineyards. All Vintages are outstandingly good and at the same time somewhat different in personality. For example, Cristal 1990 comes across to the connoisseur as a very rich Champagne, while Cristal 1993 seems much gentler in direct comparison. Both, however, impress with elegant silkiness, a particularly fine expression of fruit and a hint of toasty flavor. Cristal Rosé Milléssimé is a great rarity and is considered by many a connoisseur to be the best rosé Champagne ever. It was first introduced with the 1974 vintage. It is colored by traditional maceration with the skins of dark vines. The grape varieties represented represent approximately 70% Pinot Noir and approximately 30% Chardonnay. The 1988 vintage is considered to be exceptionally storable, very precious and still beguiles connoisseurs with its incomparable beauty. If one knows the complex and expensive development of the champagnes of the house Louis Roederer, one could assume that they must be unaffordable for 'normal mortal' champagne fans (to which the author of this report counts himself). Fortunately, however, this is not the case. The magnificent Roederer Brut Premier champagnes, for example, fit into any budget. Specialties such as Cristal are, of course, much more expensive, but being a czar is no longer a prerequisite for enjoying even this top champagne these days.