2016 Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs, Champagne

Produced from four plots in Avize, the 2016 Brut Blanc de Blancs was disgorged in February 2022 with seven grams per liter dosage. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus oil and peach mingled with toasted almonds, buttery pastry, iodine and white flowers, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a deep and layered core of fruit, racy acids and a long, succulent finish, it stands out once again as the insider's choice in the Roederer range.

As I've written before, Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon never seems to rest on his laurels. Roederer is already one of the region's leaders in farming, having committed, two decades ago, to a plan that most other grandes marques are only now beginning to emulate—an evolution outlined in more detail in the March 2020 Week 1 Issue of The Wine Advocate, to which I refer readers looking for more insights into this house's methodology. On my latest visit to Reims, we looked at the new Blanc de Blancs, the latest Cristal Rosé and the new release of Brut Collection, Roederer's reimagined non-vintage Brut, which now embraces the base vintage rather than trying to efface it, accepting variation from iteration to iteration.

94 points WK robertparker.com

Enveloping nose of fresh wheat and white tree fruits plus lemon zest freshness and a touch of flint. Stunning balance of creaminess from sur lie maturation with elegant and mineral acidity. Very long finish that’s simultaneously pristine, chalky and silky. From four plots in the Grand Cru village of Avize. Finished at just 4.5 atmospheres of pressure, which is deliberately below the norm of six. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

96 points jamessuckling.com

It was in 1833 that Louis Roederer inherited his uncle’s House : the Dubois Father and Son Champagne House in Reims, founded in 1776.

In 1876, Louis Roederer II who succeeded his Father in 1870, created, upon request of Alexander II for the Russian tsar’s exclusive consumption, the Crystal vintage, a superior vintage that is an innovation for Champagne.

Then in 1908, tsar Nicolas II gave the title of “official supplier to His Imperial Majesty’s Court”. The crystal bottles carry the tsar’s coat of arms as a medallion.

The House kept growing under the watchful gaze of the next generations, among which Jean-Claude Rouzaud, who managed the House from 1980 to 2006, and Frédéric Rouzaud, his son, the current manager since 2006.

The vineyard spreads on 240 hectares, dispatched on the Reims mountain, the Marne valley, and the Côte des Blancs. Pinot Noir is the main variety.