Louis Roederer - Hommage A Camille Coteaux Champenois Les Mesnil-Sur-Oger 2018 (750ml)
Price: $225.00
Sale Price: $169.00
| Producer | Louis Roederer |
| Country | France |
| Region | Champagne |
| Varietal | Chardonnay |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Sku | 2993 |
| Size | 750ml |
Golden color with sparkling tints that are illuminated as the bubbles rise. It has a bouquet that is particularly characteristic of the great Pinot noir grapes from Verzenay/Verzy; it contains ripe fruits: white fruit (Pear Williams) and vineyard peach combined with more acid citrus zest notes. There are also notes of dried fruit prolonged by toasted notes resulting from ageing in French oak tuns and autolysis. A dense round and voluptuous mouth which is characteristic of Louis Roederer’s calcareous clay Vintage estate. The fruity notes are juicy and full-bodied and become red (fig) and even floral with hints of rose. This is followed by acid flavours of citrus spices fresh wood and black chocolate. The wine’s appeal is its lively and invigorating taste: it is structured and has a wonderful purity. The density and the fruitiness of the wine complements—in the fullest sense of the word—the freshness elegance and length."
James Suckling: 94 Points
“Sliced apple pear flint and stone on the nose. Full-bodied with a delicious tangy palate with hints of tarragon and white peach. Minerally finish. Subtle and complete. Serious white. Drink now.”
jsWine Advocate: 91+ Points
From a 0.55-hectare parcel in lieu-dit Volibarts Roederer's 2018 Coteaux Champenois Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Hommage à Camille unwinds in the glass with an understated bouquet of white flowers linden blossom citrus zest blanched almonds and rock salt. Medium to full-bodied satiny and layered it's seamless and complete with bright girdling acids and an intensely chalky finish. Lecaillon believes this will be long-lived wine developing additional facets with age; and having followed an open bottle over several days I'm inclined to agree with him. This small report covers four recent releases from Louis Roederer: the superb 2013 Cristal and Cristal Rosé and the house's two promising debut offerings in the genre of Coteaux Champenois. The Cristal releases speak for themselves and I refer readers looking for more context to my feature on this important cuvée in the March 2020 Week 1 issue of "The Wine Advocate." Representing more of a novelty however the Coteaux are worthy of special comment. The Coteaux project began two decades ago when chef des caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon commissioned an analysis of the house's vineyard holdings looking for sites with sufficient clay content to produce still wine. In 2002 Roederer planted in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ lieu-dit Charmont with Burgundian selections (their in-house sélection massale program not yet being sufficiently advanced to supply their needs) farming the vineyard with higher canopies and without hedging pruning short to limit yields. Their first essay in vinification came in 2014 and more seriously in 2015 Lecaillon refining choices relating to the proportion of stems retained and élevage. This 2018 red in other words is the culmination of a long journey. Its white counterpart by contrast is the result of a coup de foudre: Lecaillon tasted a 1961 Coteaux from Mesnil-sur-Oger and he tells me adored it. Having initially earmarked Avize as the most plausible source for such a wine he immediately changed his focus and the result is the 2018 reviewed here. Both are fine-boned precise and charming wines without any Burgundian pretentious but rather authentically Champenois personalities; and both bear the "Hommage à Camille" label in honor of the house's grande dame Camille Olry Roederer who regularly served Coteaux Champenois to her guests.
Jancis Robinson: 16.5 Points
?Extremely mineral nose immediately reminds me of Chablis. Very vivacious but rather uncompromising. No oaky sop to the palate but rather as I suspect is intended an expression of vineyard. Bone dry and with real texture in the mouth. Yes Chablis is the closest thing with some of a dry Riesling's steeliness but this is very much its own beast and I should imagine will age in an interesting fashion. Difficult to know how long for though without a track record.?
js
| Quantity: |
