Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Collection 246

Regular price $57.98

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93 Vinous - The NV Brut Collection 246 is positively stellar. It’s a terrific example of where Roederer is going with this cuvée stylistically. Brisk saline notes cut through a core of orchard fruit, mint, white pepper and slate. There are no hard angles or awkward contours. The 246 is based on 2021, an extremely tricky vintage for Champagne. Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon bumped up the percentage of Chardonnay considerably and focused on Pinots from the Montagne de Reims. About 30% of the lots underwent malolactic fermentation to soften the edges. Twenty-four percent of the wines were fermented in oak, the rest in tank. The 246 is a blend of 55% base 2021 vintage wines described above, plus 30% perpetual reserve going back to 2012 (mostly from Cumières, Vertus and Verzy) in tank and 10% young-vine juice from Cristal plots aged in cask. The final blend is 54% Chardonnay (as opposed to the more typical 44%), 35% Pinot Noir and 11% Meunier. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. More importantly, the 246 is impeccably done and absolutely delicious.

93 Wine Spectator - A harmonious Champagne that shows impeccable balance, with depth and focus to its flavors of white cherry, Honeycrisp apple, tangerine peel and biscuit, while retaining vibrancy and grace. A chalky underpinning comes to the fore on the creamy finish, joining delicate spice and floral accents. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier.

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Louis Roederer Collection 246 is a particularly bright, Chardonnay-driven and mineral expression of Roederer’s multi-vintage Champagne. Built primarily around the difficult but high-acid 2021 harvest, it emphasizes finesse and tension rather than sheer richness. The blend is 54% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir and 11% Meunier, with 55% coming from 2021, 35% from Roederer’s perpetual reserve dating back to 2012, and 10% oak-aged reserve wines. Dosage is a restrained 7 g/L.

In the glass, it is crisp, elegant and beautifully chiseled, opening with lemon zest, nectarine, mirabelle plum and ripe pear, followed by chalk, subtle brioche, toasted almond and a faint smoky/oyster-shell character. The mousse is exceptionally fine and creamy, but the wine remains energetic and dry, finishing with salinity, chalk and lingering citrus. Roederer itself notes that the unusually high Chardonnay component gives 246 a character reminiscent of a Blanc de Blancs.

What makes 246 especially compelling is the contrast between the youthful, cool-vintage freshness of 2021 and the depth supplied by the perpetual reserve. It has enough toast and creaminess to feel luxurious, but its dominant impression is precision, freshness and mineral drive rather than opulence.

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Unless your delivery address is on the West Coast, we strongly discourage you from selecting “Ground Service” as your shipping method. During the winter and summer months, weather conditions (temperature) and longer delivery times can often result in the spoilage of your order. It doesn’t make sense to invest in fine wines and then take the chance of ruining them due environmental factors during transit (faster and safer delivery generally isn’t much more expensive). We don’t make an additional profit on accelerated delivery, but we frequently recommend faster shipping options to our customers outside the West Coast.
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