2009 Louis Roederer et Philippe Starck Brut Nature
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The bright golden Roederer & Starck 2009 Brut Nature assembles two-thirds Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier with one-third Chardonnay. The grapes come from various parcels in Cumières and were harvested the same day and then pressed together all at once. The idea here is that the place is stronger than the expression of the varietals. Regarding the place, it's a deep and marly clay soil that gives a big expression of fruit in a continental and sunny year such as 2009. Indeed, the wine delivers very intense and creamy fruit aromas to the nose that combine the vinosity and structure of Pinot Noir with the ripeness of Pinot Meunier and the floral finesse and freshness of Chardonnay but doesn't represent the varieties as such. The 2009 was partly fermented in oak (at roughly 30%), but there was no malolactic fermentation. Disgorged in May 2016, the 2009 is now better than ever and reveals a fascinatingly pure yet delicate and elegant bouquet with iodine, lemon zest, hazelnut, herbal and very fine spicy notes, all perfectly interwoven. The palate is predestinated for the Brut Nature style because it's rich, ripe, round and fruity by the nature of the vintage and is also pure, fresh and salty, with just the right creaminess and mineral tension. The finish is long and chalky and reveals great mineral purity, tension and stimulating salinity. The 2009 has developed enormously in the past few years and is now very fine and elegant as well as perfectly matured. Tasted May 2018.
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Roederer's 2009 Brut Nature is compelling. Powerful, ample and creamy, the 2009 has more than enough natural richness and texture to carry the wine with no dosage. The Brut Nature emerges from vineyards in Cumieres, where the wines are naturally tense, which creates a fascinating push and pull with the ripeness of 2009 and no dosage approach. Of all the grand marque Chefs de Caves, Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon is the closest to his vineyards and the most artisan in spirit. That comes through loud and clear in this fabulous Champagne. The Brut Nature is also the single best value within the Roederer range today.
Lovely salted cracker nose – rich, yeasty, dry and tart. Shows a hint of fennel alongside the brisk citrus fruit. Flavourful and lengthy. (RH)
From Cumières, unusual clay soils. A field blend of the three varieties: 55% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Meunier. Chef de cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon’s idea is to return to the past – co-pressing and co-fermenting the three varieties from this 11-ha vineyard now owned by Roederer, who bought it from Leclerc Briant, who converted it to biodynamic, Demeter certified. 70% stainless steel, no malolactic fermentation, no chaptalisation, aged in tank for 9-11 months and bottled at relatively low pressure, under 5 atmospheres. It was not meant to be zero dosage but, as in 2006, no dosage was needed. A warm year is needed to get good ripeness for this wine. 2012 and 2015 will be the next vintages of this wine. Lécaillon had thought there would be a 2017 but summer was too wet . A most unusual wine: a field blend with zero dosage and no malo. Smells extraordinarily rich for a Brut Nature with honeyed wild flowers, very biodynamic scent. Very dry and long on the end with slight, intriguing bitterness. Relatively rich for a no-dosage wine. ‘You taste clay on the cheeks and chalk on the tongue’, according to Lécaillon, who adds, ‘it’s more exotic, rounder and develops completely differently from a varietal champagne and cannot be categorised as such’. (JR)