“Roederer Estate’s winemaking style is based on two elements: ownership of its own vineyards and the addition of oak-aged reserve wines to each year’s blend or cuvée. All the grapes for the Anderson Valley wines are grown on the estate. Oak-aged wines from the estate’s reserve cellars are added to the blend, creating a multi-vintage cuvée in the traditional Louis Roederer style.”

This is a multi-vintage blend of 56% Pinot Noir and 44% Chardonnay. For color, winemaker Arnaud Weyrich prepares a small portion of pinot noir wine with extended maceration and adds about three to five percent to the blend, imparting a subtle salmon tinge. The wine has a pale-pink color with aromas of delicate toast. The higher percentage of Pinot Noir gives this sparkling wine an added sense of richness and dimension. Within are crushed red raspberries and stone fruits that give way to a subtle expression of minerality, tension and fresh acidity.

By W Peter Hoyne