Roederer Estate is the California property of Champagne house Louis Roederer. Founded in 1982, the property is nestled in Mendocino County’s cool, fog-shrouded Anderson Valley.

L’Ermitage is Roederer Estate’s special tête de cuvée made only in exceptional years from all estate-grown grapes, 52% Chardonnay and 48% Pinot Noir. L’Ermitage is produced in the traditional French method and adds special oak-aged reserve wines to each blend. In the case of this vintage, reserve wines from 2004 and 2005, aged five years in a French oak cask, were added. Following disgorgement in November of 2024, L’Ermitage 2007 was aged an additional five months on the cork prior to release.

The 2007 vintage was a somewhat dry season with fairly low yields, resulting in complex and concentrated wines with racy acidity. The wine’s purity and low pH made it ideal for long aging in the cellar. And now, 16-and-a-half years later, its youthful presentation belies its age.

In the glass, the bright acidity gives way to lovely warm brioche toast on the nose along with a complex blend of golden citrus fruits, caramelized honeycomb, baked Fuji apple, poached pear, and a creamy, clean, rounded finish that continues for minutes. This is an exemplary effort by winemaker Arnaud Weyrich and his staff. A modest 96 cases were produced.

By Peter Pretzer