A breathtaking beauty of a Champagne

In the world of Blanc de Blancs, this 2009 Louis Roederer is one of the very finest, says Matthew Jukes.

Matthew Jukes
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published
in Features

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2009 Louis Roederer, Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, France (£79.95, Harrods, 020-7730 1234).

I was astonished at the beauty ofthe perfume of this wine andseconds after I opened the bottlethe aura in the room was exquisite. Louis Roederer uses two top-flight Grand Cru villages for the grapes forthis 100% chardonnay Mesnil-sur-Oger and Avize. The only recipe detail that you need to be aware of is that they bring into play a little oak 10% of thewine has been matured in barrels.

This amazing creation spends five years in the cellar at Roederer before being disgorged. It is this simplicity and purity which makes 2009 Blanc de Blancs such a breath-taking beauty. It is a rare wine, too, with extremely limited stocks, hence the fact there is only one confirmed retailerso far. Aside from the scintillating nose, the palate is sleek and silky and then the finish rolls on for minutes.

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As it is already six years old this wine is drinking perfectly, but I don't doubt it will age for another decade. I am happy to put my neck on the line and say that this vintage is my favourite to date and in the world of Blanc de Blancs it is one of the very finest. Would I drink it instead of Cristal? Yes, I would it's half the price and it pulls the rug out from under the current vintage 2007 Cristal in my humble opinion.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (MatthewJukes.com).

Matthew Jukes
Matthew Jukes

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.  

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’.  He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner. 

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy.  His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.

 

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