Roederer Estates

I haven't had the opportunity to tour a sparkling wine maker. The process is different from "flat" wines, and I want to see it all - the riddling, the dégorgement, all of the steps of the méthode traditional.

And I'm still waiting. My e-mail requests for a tour at Roederer - one of the world's top Champagne makers - went unanswered. Even if they had been, a tour would be unlikely. Roederer started harvesting this week (sparkling wine grapes are harvested earlier than flat wine grapes), and that ties up the whole team.

To be honest, I haven't developed a passion for sparkling wines, though I do like the dry, rich Crémants of Alsace. Nobody has offered me a free tasting of the expensive stuff, either, so my knowledge of Champagnes is limited to the under $50 products.

In general, I found the Roederer products disappointing. Blended from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, they lacked the aromas and flavours of the grapes.

Roederer Estates Brut MV (multi-vintage)
60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, this is an extra dry wine, with lots of citrus, green apple and steel notes.

Roederer Estates Brut MV Magnum
This is the same blend, but because of the larger size bottle it has to be aged in the bottle an extra year. Supposedly, this makes it creamier, though I couldn't detect the difference.

Roederer Estates Rosé MV
55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay, this fruity, dry wine is the one we liked the best.

Roederer Estates L'ermitage 2000
The tasting room rep kept calling this "the special one", based on its price, I think. Fermented sur lees for four and a half years, it has a nice mousse, and is dry and fruity, too. We still liked the Rosé better.

Roederer Estates Extra Dry MV
It's, um, dry and fruity.

Roederer also offers two flat wines:

Roederer Estates Chardonnay 2007
Steely, with peach and mineral notes, it has a light vanilla and toast quality and is off-dry.

Roederer Estates Pinot Noir 2005
More bitter than sour, this is very dry and lacking much fruit character.