Louis Roederer Collection 243 Champagne NV

A blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

The Louis Roederer Collection 243 NV champagne is a new wine from Roederer that replaces the Brut Premier in the range. The Collection (which now will be numbered by harvest) is a blend of three components: a perpetual reserve done in the classic non-malo Roederer style, reserve wines in oak with a touch of malo, and a base vintage. That blend results in a NV Champagne that offers lovely richness and resonance, with plenty of yellow orchard fruit and floral character. Whereas Brut Premier was typically a focused, nervy wine that, while consistently excellent, also was not always in line with the Roederer house style, the 243 tastes more like a Roederer Champagne in terms of its complexity. The Collection 243 includes reserve wines going back to 2009, supplemented by the finest successes of the 2018 harvest. Dosage is 8 grams per liter, so lower than the 9 or so that was typical for recent Brut Premier and much lower than the 12-13 that was once customary. The 243 was also bottled with a bit less sugar than the norm, which results in lower atmospheres of pressure in the bottle and silkier texture.