Louis Roederer has been an important part of my own Champagne journey almost from the beginning. Over the years, my relationship with the Maison has become a close and very personal one, which makes being able to share some of its world with my guests particularly special. On this occasion, our invitation began in the vineyards of Aÿ.
We met at La Villers, a historic Grand Cru parcel of old-vine Pinot Noir belonging to Roederer and the sole source of Pinot Noir for Cristal Rosé. It is a remarkable place to stand with a glass in hand, not least because Cristal Rosé is, for me, one of the most beautiful rosé champagnes made in Champagne.
There is something distinctive about the Pinot Noir grown here. Rather than overt fruitiness, its expression is softer and more fragrant, moving towards peach and florals, with an elegance that seems at odds with the power we sometimes associate with Pinot Noir from Aÿ.
It also helps explain the unusual way Cristal Rosé is made. Roederer uses a long, cool maceration of destemmed, but not crushed, Pinot Noir before racking and introducing Chardonnay juice into the infusion. The varieties then ferment together, creating a rosé in which the tannins feel beautifully integrated rather than extracted. The result is less about red fruit and more about perfume, texture and finesse.
Standing among the vines, we could talk about all of this with the terroir quite literally beneath our feet.
From La Villers, we continued to Roederer's family country estate in Aÿ, a beautiful old home that also houses one of the Maison's traditional pressoirs. We began outside with an apéritif in the rambling rose garden, Philippe Starck Brut Nature in our glasses and a succession of delicate canapés. It was relaxed and wonderfully pretty, but without feeling staged. More like being welcomed into someone's country home which, of course, we were.
Inside, lunch was waiting. The dining room is memorable in its own right: duck-egg blue wrapping the walls, gold detailing, beautiful glassware and crockery, and a long table softened by loose country florals.
The food followed with delicate flavours and textures working naturally with the Roederer style, which has always been more about finesse than weight. Texture is important in these wines, as is the chalky line that underscores them.
Inevitably, we arrived at Cristal, perhaps the clearest expression of that idea with Grand and Premier Cru fruit shaped as much by chalk, tension and texture as flavour.
A final treat was a Jeroboam of Louis Roederer 1993. 1993 was not a vintage that received enormous acclaim on release, yet more than three decades later I find it increasingly compelling. From Jeroboam, it showed lovely delicacy and harmony, with the elements of the wine now sitting together beautifully.
It was an extraordinarily generous bottle to share and an unexpected way to finish our afternoon.
These are the moments I want our Signature Journeys to create. We can talk about terroir and winemaking - and we do - but understanding Champagne also comes from being there: standing in La Villers, walking through a rose garden, sitting around a family table and watching an older vintage slowly open in the glass.
The wine becomes part of a much bigger memory.
Champagne is easy to visit, but experiencing it from the inside is something else entirely. Experience Champagne, my way.
Sara Underdown
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