Max Allen
I’ve written here before about Roederer’s move from a traditional non-vintage philosophy (blending wines to make a product that always taste the same) to a more transparent multi-vintage philosophy of basing each year’s release on a single harvest, and then blending with reserve wines matured in tank and in large oak barrels to produce a wine that varies from year to year, reflecting the season. The current release of Collection – based on the difficult, low-yielding 2021 vintage, which was Roederer’s 246th harvest (hence the number on the label) – is a stunning champagne. The primary impression is of lively, incisive citrus fruit (the blend is just over 50 per cent chardonnay) driving along the tongue, dissolving into a deeply satisfying finish of cracked wheat, brioche and toasty, chalky minerality, thanks to the inclusion in the blend of the “réserve perpétuelle“, a solera of wines started in 2012.