Louis Roederer Collection 242 gets the numeric part of its name from the youngest vintage in the blend, which is 2017, and is the 242nd harvest since the Champagne House was founded. This multi-vintage blend is dominated by the 2017 harvest, and is blended with reserve wines aged in oak from 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Collection 242 replaces the much-loved Brut Premier NV from Louis Roederer. This multi-vintage cuvée is rather daring, as the thinking behind this new wine is to create a cuvée that changes every year and creates a unique product year on year. In a way, it's like bringing vintage-style thinking into the non-vintage category.
Brut Premier was launched in 1986, and 2021 marks the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one. Collection 242 has more fruit characteristics, more ripened flavours, and its fresher too, due to the lower pH value than Brut Premier. The lower pH has come about from the move to organic viticulture on Louis Roederers own vineyards. A very respectable 75% of Louis Roederer grape needs are met by their own vines.
The move to replace their best-selling Champagne is certainly a bold one. However, Collection 242 certainly sits above Brut Premier NV on the aromas and flavour front. It has more depth of aromas, an enhanced freshness and crispness on the palate and exudes a sense of maturity.
On the nose, it is delightfully ripe with clear hints of autumnal orchard fruits including pear, apple and yellow plum to name a few. It has a certain amount of complexity too, with baked apples mixed with sultanas and spice. There are a range of fruit flavours to explore on the palate, with a firm underpinning of acidity and a great balance and texture. It'll work well with food, as well as served as an aperitif. The finish is a pleasurable mix of minerality and bitter fruits. A real delight to enjoy.
The bottle comes presented in a Louis Roederer Collection 242 box.
