Louis Roederer - 2012 - Brut Nature Philippe Starck Blanc - 750 ml.
France - Champagne
Pinot Noir - Pinot Meunier - Chardonnay
Sparkling - Vintage: 2012 - Size: 750 ml.
Louis Roederer, a wonderful family-owned Champagne House founded in 1776, has a tremendous reputation for quality. It has remained an independent, family-owned company and is now managed by Frédéric Rouzaud, who represents the seventh generation of the lineage. Eighty percent of the firm's needs are supplied by their own, magnificent, 444 acres of vineyard holdings. This wine is without doubt one of the very top non-vintage Champagnes. Its elegant complexities come from the barrel-ageing of a high proportion of the blend, together with at least four years' maturation in bottle before disgorging. The quintessence of the House style, Brut Premier offers quality and glamour as well as excellent value. A structured, elegant wine, it is deliciously creamy with almond and toast characteristics alongside the complexity and roundness that are the hallmarks of this House.
The 2012 Brut Nature is showing beautifully, bursting from the glass with an expressive bouquet of lemon oil, crisp green apple, wheat toast, hazelnuts and wet stones. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with its generous core of concentrated and delicately sun-kissed fruit girdled by brisk acids and undeniable mineral grip and complemented by a delicate pinpoint mousse. Concluding with a saline finish, this lovely wine is a blend of 55% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay, reflecting its origins in Cumières. - William Kelley