2012 Champagne Louis Roederer, Rosé, Brut

The fresh strawberries here are so clear and alluring. There are some peaches, too. The palate offers pink grapefruit and fresh cherries laced with lemons and yellow grapefruit. It has a deep, mineral backbone with a smooth resolve, and it is buoyed with pink fruit.

Drink now

62% Cumières Pinot Noir, 38% north-facing Chardonnay in Chouilly. Disgorged in early 2017. They keep the Pinot Noir at 4 °C and encourage a long maceration, so it’s still juice. When the colour is right, they rack, add the Chardonnay juice, and then ferment them together. Lécaillon says they don’t make a non-vintage rosé because the colour is not consistent.

Subtle with a dry finish. It’s very readable already for such a young wine.

Roederer's 2012 Brut Vintage Rosé is showing well, offering up pretty aromas of apples, freshly baked bread and tangerine. It's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with a generous core of succulent fruit, a youthfully frothy but fine mousse, ripe acids and a precise, elegantly chalky finish. It's an elegant, textural rosé that's quite vinous for this cuvée.

Drink 2018 - 2028

The 2012 Brut Rosé Vintage is another compelling wine in this range from Roederer. Creamy, open-knit and radiant, the 2012 captures the natural radiance and generosity of this vintage beautifully. Red berry, chalk, white flowers and mint build in a wonderfully inviting, layered Champagne. Floral overtones add freshness and perfume to play off the rich fruit. Dense and racy, but not at all heavy, the Rosé Vintage is positively stellar in 2012.

Cristal and Cristal Rosé get most of the attention at Roederer, but the other wines in this range are every bit as compelling, and far more affordable, too. I was reminded of that once again as I tasted through these current and upcoming releases. I will have more on Cristal and other new forthcoming releases from Roederer very soon. In the meantime, these wines are well worth your attention. Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon does not stand still. A range of Coteaux Champenois still wines and a few other new Champagnes are all on the way from Roederer, which remains the most innovative of Champagne's grands marques.

Drink 2019 - 2032