Henri, a third-generation vintner in Champagne, begins his day much earlier now; the grapes struggle to handle the afternoon heat—a stark contrast to his grandfather's time when the climate was much milder. As the first light crests the horizon, Henri moves swiftly along the rows, checking for signs of stress or damage. A decade ago, afternoons used to be prime for certain vineyard work, but now it's too brutal for both grapes and humans. Pruning or harvesting are also better done in the cooler morning hours to avoid stressing the vines from the afternoon heat.

He inspects the grapes. The Champagne region has always been synonymous with a certain style – crisp, elegant, all about that delicate balance. However, this year's heatwave has the grapes ripening faster and smaller. Water stress is causing the grapes to hoard moisture to survive, and that means flavours get concentrated to the point of arguably overwhelming Champagne's usual delicate balance.

It's a hot topic, no pun intended, and this isn’t just an issue faced by Henri of our vignette. While lots of new drinkers are digging the sweeter and fruitier wines, uneasy Champagne makers are scrambling for solutions to a warming world. Seeing how the grapes have already evolved, no one quite knows what Champagne wines will look like in another decade or two.

Even heavy-hitters like Louis Roederer Champagne – most famous for its luxury cuvée Cristal Champagne – are concerned about climate change. And this is where Louis Roederer’s Collection series comes in.

Introduced in 2021, the Collection series replaces the former Louis Roederer Brut Premier, and introduces a couple of new methods of Champagne-making that “fall into step with Nature's new tempo” as the Champagne house poetically describes. Our translation: it’s looking to keep the flavour of its Champagnes consistent over a long period of time even as the weather throws curveballs in erratic years.

Unlike the Brut Premier which simply blends wines from a range of vintages, the Collection series introduces a significant component of Champagne blended from a solera-style Perpetual Reserve which will contain older wines from a range of vintages since 2012. This allows Louis Roederer to smooth out the differences between vintages caused by climate variations, ensuring a more consistent profile despite the year-to-year fluctuations in grape quality and character.

Each Collection wine comprises three key components. The bulk of it is a base vintage that makes up around 50% of the blend. Then, around 30% is drawn from the Perpetual Reserve that introduces complexity and freshness. Finally, around 10% of the blend consists of wines aged in large French oak vats – a decision that increases intensity and provides a point of balance with the zesty freshness.

Climate change could make the Champagne region and Châteauneuf du Pape too hot to produce their iconic wines. This too affects other major wine-producing regions around the world like California, Italy, Spain and South Australia. (Image Source: Economist)

It's a high-wire act – balancing tradition while adapting to a changing world. This brings us to our tasting of the Collection 243 – the second Collection series (every subsequent Collection wine would be assigned a N + 1 number). The bulk of this expression comes from the 2018 vintage, with the Perpetual Reserve contributing to 31% and 10% from reserve wines aged in large French oak vats. In terms of grape varietals, it is composed of 42% Chardonnay, 36% Pinot noir, 22% Meunier.

Let’s give this a taste.

Louis Roederer Champagne Collection 243 Brut MV – Review

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Straw, Light Mousse

Aroma: Immediately there’s all these sweeter brioche and honeycomb amidst more citruses of Sicilian lemons and oranges, also some green apples and pears. There’s a light nuttiness of almonds supported by clotted cream - it’s rich and quite intense, but also bright and hefty.

Taste: Noticeably more dry here, with a noticeable hit of acidity - green apples, green pears, mandarin oranges, more of that pastry note of brioche, buttercream, honey. It’s more mellow here but just as rich.

Finish: The orchard fruits persists, atop that bed of runny honey. Clean and lightly honeyed sweet aftertaste.

My Thoughts

Overall, I thought this was quite stellar with all these lovable and approachable flavours but more importantly with that accompanying richness and sweetness. It’s not entirely dry - more of a medium dryness, so while it isn’t as crisp, it is definitely more approachable. On the flip side it’s got that heaviness and fuller body that isn’t as clean as brut lovers might like it to be. While it could use more depth and power on the palate, for the price and all things considered - it’s a really good pick. 

My Rating: 7/10

@CharsiuCharlie