Our best-selling Champagne of the year, these are the last bottles available in stock. The 242 is a masterpiece and a fantastic addition to the legacy of Roederer and is a bottle of Champagne we cannot recommend enough. The 242 is the perfect accompaniment to this holiday season's festivities.
The debut of a new Cuvee From Louis Roederer, the 242, is the first in what will be a long line of solera-style Champagnes that are replacing their regular non-vintage brut. The decision was made to revitalize some of the Cuvees, starting with the non-vintage, and push them into modern times to keep up with the sustainable practices and quality sparked by the grower Champagne movement. As a result, Louis Roederer has converted or is only using sustainable plots now, whether it is part of their estate or with a grower contract. They have also decided to only source from plots or areas of Champagne with a strong identity, featuring many lieu dits, exposures, and soils which they call the Coeur de Terroir or Heart of the Terroir. This focus on a higher quality product, all the way down to the soil, and ensuring the best fruit possible is inspiring to see, already yielding fantastic results. Another key to this Cuvee is the solera used, which was started in the 2012 vintage. Every year more juice is added, usually stored in tank but Roederer has also significantly increased the amount of reserve wine aged in oak. However, one of the best parts about this Cuvee, which is also mentioned below by Galloni, is that the base here is 2017, a year in which Roederer claimed no vintage Champagnes. As a result, all of the best plots, including those for the Cristal and Cristal Rose, went into this bottling. 242 marks the 242nd blend that Roederer has made, and it is genuinely incredible, opening a new chapter for the house. There is a surge in quality over the previous bottlings while also fitting perfectly into the house style with its more decadent rounder flavors met by soaring minerality and acidity. It is one of the best new Cuvees from Champagne we have tried in some time and is highly recommended for all that enjoy Champagne. Excellent notes across the board below; this is not a bottle to miss!
James Suckling 94 points! "Aromas of cooked apple, bread dough and lemon tart follow through to a full body with round, delicious fruit and a rich, flavorful finish. Yet, it remains tight and fine with lovely, compressed bubbles. New energy and freshness. Medium-to full-bodied with layers of fruit and vivid intensity."
Wine Advocate (William Kelley) 93+ points! "This debut release is very impressive indeed, wafting from the glass with notes of pear, peach, ripe citrus fruit, toasted almonds, fresh pastry and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and textural, it's concentrated and layered, with lively acids, an enlivening pinpoint mousse and a long, sapid finish. Brut Premier was already a very persuasive wine, but the new Brut Collection nevertheless represents a step up."
Decanter 92 points! "Softly shimmering straw gold, green tints, with a delicate filigree dancing at will around the glass. The nose is gently authoritative; spring flowers garlanding stone fruit, a hint of hawthorn maybe, then lemongrass. The palate has encyclopaedic depth, the intricacies of the Perpetual Reserve weaving their early magic; almond, sloe, gingerbread and apples; the finish has a pleasing twist of bitterness, courtesy of the small percentage of oak-aged reserve wine."
Antonio Galloni 92 points! "Whereas Brut Premier was typically a focused, nervy wine that, while consistently excellent, also was not always in line with the Roederer house style, the 242 tastes more like a Roederer Champagne in terms of its complexity. Incidentally, there is no Vintage, Cristal or Cristal Rosé in 2017, so all the best lots went into this bottling. Dosage is 8 grams per liter, so lower than the 9 or so that was typical for recent Brut Premier and much lower than the 12-13 that was once customary. The 242 was also bottled with a bit less sugar than the norm, which results in lower atmospheres of pressure in the bottle and silkier texture."
Wine Spectator 92 points! "A bright, harmonious Champagne, layering well-cut acidity and a chalky underpinning with flavors of white cherry, crunchy pineapple, green almond and beeswax. The finely detailed mousse carries hints of saffron and spring blossom on the lingering finish."
NV Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Collection 242
NV Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Collection 242
Our best-selling Champagne of the year, these are the last bottles available in stock. The 242 is a masterpiece and a fantastic addition to the legacy of Roederer and is a bottle of Champagne we cannot recommend enough. The 242 is the perfect accompaniment to this holiday season's festivities.
The debut of a new Cuvee From Louis Roederer, the 242, is the first in what will be a long line of solera-style Champagnes that are replacing their regular non-vintage brut. The decision was made to revitalize some of the Cuvees, starting with the non-vintage, and push them into modern times to keep up with the sustainable practices and quality sparked by the grower Champagne movement. As a result, Louis Roederer has converted or is only using sustainable plots now, whether it is part of their estate or with a grower contract. They have also decided to only source from plots or areas of Champagne with a strong identity, featuring many lieu dits, exposures, and soils which they call the Coeur de Terroir or Heart of the Terroir. This focus on a higher quality product, all the way down to the soil, and ensuring the best fruit possible is inspiring to see, already yielding fantastic results. Another key to this Cuvee is the solera used, which was started in the 2012 vintage. Every year more juice is added, usually stored in tank but Roederer has also significantly increased the amount of reserve wine aged in oak. However, one of the best parts about this Cuvee, which is also mentioned below by Galloni, is that the base here is 2017, a year in which Roederer claimed no vintage Champagnes. As a result, all of the best plots, including those for the Cristal and Cristal Rose, went into this bottling. 242 marks the 242nd blend that Roederer has made, and it is genuinely incredible, opening a new chapter for the house. There is a surge in quality over the previous bottlings while also fitting perfectly into the house style with its more decadent rounder flavors met by soaring minerality and acidity. It is one of the best new Cuvees from Champagne we have tried in some time and is highly recommended for all that enjoy Champagne. Excellent notes across the board below; this is not a bottle to miss!
James Suckling 94 points! "Aromas of cooked apple, bread dough and lemon tart follow through to a full body with round, delicious fruit and a rich, flavorful finish. Yet, it remains tight and fine with lovely, compressed bubbles. New energy and freshness. Medium-to full-bodied with layers of fruit and vivid intensity."
Wine Advocate (William Kelley) 93+ points! "This debut release is very impressive indeed, wafting from the glass with notes of pear, peach, ripe citrus fruit, toasted almonds, fresh pastry and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and textural, it's concentrated and layered, with lively acids, an enlivening pinpoint mousse and a long, sapid finish. Brut Premier was already a very persuasive wine, but the new Brut Collection nevertheless represents a step up."
Decanter 92 points! "Softly shimmering straw gold, green tints, with a delicate filigree dancing at will around the glass. The nose is gently authoritative; spring flowers garlanding stone fruit, a hint of hawthorn maybe, then lemongrass. The palate has encyclopaedic depth, the intricacies of the Perpetual Reserve weaving their early magic; almond, sloe, gingerbread and apples; the finish has a pleasing twist of bitterness, courtesy of the small percentage of oak-aged reserve wine."
Antonio Galloni 92 points! "Whereas Brut Premier was typically a focused, nervy wine that, while consistently excellent, also was not always in line with the Roederer house style, the 242 tastes more like a Roederer Champagne in terms of its complexity. Incidentally, there is no Vintage, Cristal or Cristal Rosé in 2017, so all the best lots went into this bottling. Dosage is 8 grams per liter, so lower than the 9 or so that was typical for recent Brut Premier and much lower than the 12-13 that was once customary. The 242 was also bottled with a bit less sugar than the norm, which results in lower atmospheres of pressure in the bottle and silkier texture."
Wine Spectator 92 points! "A bright, harmonious Champagne, layering well-cut acidity and a chalky underpinning with flavors of white cherry, crunchy pineapple, green almond and beeswax. The finely detailed mousse carries hints of saffron and spring blossom on the lingering finish."
