2010 Louis Roederer Rose, Champagne

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 Rosé Vintage; 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 a ripe fruit with soft and silky tannin,s but a 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 a fine grip and stimulating freshness in the finish. This is an excellent Rosé.

Stephen Reihardt, The Wine Advocate, 92 points