Champagne Louis Roederer, Brut Premier

Champagne Louis Roederer, Brut Premier

Product: 10008002839
Burghound91/100
Wine Advocate90/100
Jancis Robinson MW17/20
Wine Spectator92/100
Decanter94/100
Jeb Dunnuck91/100
 
Champagne Louis Roederer, Brut Premier

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
You can place a bid for this wine on BBX
Place a bid

Description

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.

wine at a glance

Delivery and quality guarantee

Critics reviews
Burghound91/100
There are plenty of petrol and yeast components to the cool apple, pear and softly citrus-inflected aromas. There is fine volume to the delicious and solidly complex medium-bodied flavors that possess fine length on the clean and moderately dry finale that comes across as drier than the reported dosage would suggest. Moreover, this is a wine that could be enjoyed now but one that could also easily be held for up to another decade.
Alan Meadows, Burghound (October 2019) Read more
Wine Advocate90/100
Roederer's NV Brut Premier is a classic and blends about 40% Pinot Noir (from Bouzy and Ambonnay), with 20-25% Meunier (whose share is declining in this blend) and Chardonnay. Two-thirds of the grapes come from estate vineyards, one-third is purchased. (Mind you that all the other Roederer cuves are sourced exclusively form their own vineyards!) The newest release of the Premier is based on 75% 2009 and 25% reserve wines, which are, since 1996, single vintage wines aged in large oak casks between 6,000 and 10,000 liters. Jean-Baptiste Lcaillon holds 160 vats of reserve wines that are stored blank, so without lees, which otherwise would dominate the taste, says Lcaillon. I don't like the reductive yeast flavors. Instead I am searching for a slightly oxidative and oaky style in my reserve wine. Lcaillon's youngest Premier did not undergo malolactic fermentation. The wine opens very bright, precise and refined, with toasty and white chocolate flavors. Absolutely delicate and elegant on the palate, this is a light, silky textured and remarkably finesse-full Champagne that is fresh on the palate, thanks to its structure and slightly oaky flavors. Excellent.
Stephan Reinhardt - 30/06/2016 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW17/20
A greenish tinge to deep straw colour. Some real depth on this nose with all the elements building on each other. Really is superior! Great harmony and nothing out of place. Incredibly persistent. Bravo!
Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com (July 2019) Read more
Wine Spectator92/100
Racy acidity drives this sleek Champagne, swathed in a lovely, creamy mousse as it carries a finely meshed range of poached pear and star fruit, pickled ginger and Meyer lemon zest. Lithe and graceful, with a lasting, mineral-laced finish. Drink now through 2025.
Wine Spectator (December 2020) Read more
Decanter94/100
42% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay, 18% Meunier from 55% estate vineyards; 16% fermented and matured in oak casks; 30% malolactic. The rise and evolution of this cuvée over the past 15 years, and particularly since the construction of its dedicated facility in 2007, has showed no sign of slowing today, as Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon continues his fanatical regime of experimenting, tweaking and refining every detail. I’ve long adored Brut Premier, a grand pinnacle and dependable bargain in the non-vintage Champagne stakes.
Tyson Stelzer, Decanter (October 2020) Read more
Jeb Dunnuck91/100
Coming mostly from estate fruit, the NV Brut Premier is a terrific value offering lots of golden apple and white flower notes, medium-bodied, richness, and a textured, balanced, layered mouthfeel. It’s beautifully done and one classy Champagne to enjoy over the coming 7-8 years.
Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com (July 2020) Read more

About this WINE
Louis Roederer

Louis Roederer

Founded in 1776, Louis Roederer is a family-owned, independent Champagne house with a well-deserved reputation for quality. It is managed by Frédéric Rouzaud, the seventh generation to be at the helm.

In 1876, Louis Roederer created the now-famous Cristal at the request of Alexander II. This once intensely sweet wine is now one of the most luscious, deeply flavoured champagnes available, with the '88, '89 and '90 among the greatest Cristals ever released.

Louis Roederer’s best-selling non-vintage blend for almost 40 years, Brut Premier, has recently been replaced by Collection 242. This new multi-vintage blend was created by Chef du Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon in response to increasingly warm vintages. The cuvée aims to capture freshness and is based on a perpetual reserve which focuses on acidity and minerality.

Find out more
Brut Champagne

Brut Champagne

Brut denotes a dry style of Champagne (less than 15 grams per litre). Most Champagne is non-vintage, produced from a blend from different years. The non-vintage blend is always based predominately on wines made from the current harvest, enriched with aged wines (their proportion and age varies by brand) from earlier harvests, which impart an additional level of complexity to the end wine. Champagnes from a single vintage are labelled with the year reference and with the description Millésimé.

Non-vintage Champagnes can improve with short-term ageing (typically two to three years), while vintages can develop over much longer periods (five to 30 years). The most exquisite and often top-priced expression of a house’s style is referred to as Prestige Cuvée. Famous examples include Louis Roederer's Cristal, Moët & Chandon's Dom Pérignon, and Pol Roger's Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill.

Recommended Producers : Krug, Billecart Salmon, Pol Roger, Bollinger, Salon, Gosset, Pierre Péters, Ruinart


Find out more
Champagne blend

Champagne blend

Which grapes are included in the blend, and their proportion, is one of the key factors determining the style of most Champagnes. Three grapes are used - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.

26% of vineyards in Champagne are planted with Chardonnay and it performs best on the Côtes des Blancs and on the chalk slopes south of Epernay. It is relatively simple to grow, although it buds early and thus is susceptible to spring frosts. It produces lighter, fresher wines than those from Burgundy and gives finesse, fruit and elegance to the final blend. It is the sole grape in Blancs de Blancs, which are some of the richest long-lived Champagnes produced.

Pinot Noir accounts for nearly 40% of the plantings in Champagne and lies at the heart of most blends - it gives Champagne its body, structure, strength and grip. It is planted across Champagne and particularly so in the southern Aube district.

The final component is Pinot Meunier and this constitutes nearly 35% of the plantings. Its durability and resistance to spring frosts make the Marne Valley, a notorious frost pocket, its natural home. It ripens well in poor years and produces a soft, fruity style of wine that is ideal for blending with the more assertive flavours of Pinot Noir. Producers allege that Pinot Meunier lacks ageing potential, but this does not deter Krug from including around 15% of it in their final blends.


Find out more