I often like to describe a wine using the characteristics of a person, because I truly believe that each wine does have a personality. When I’m enjoying a wine, it is as if I’m trying to get to know someone. It is an experience of establishing a deep connection and indeed, there are times when I really feel like I have fallen in love with a certain wine.
During a special dinner at Lai Heen, located on the 51st floor of Ritz Carlton, I had the privilege of meeting with Mr. Michel Janneau, Executive vice president of Louis Roederer, a French champagne house founded in 1776. Legend has it that Russian Tsar Alexander II asked the establishment to create a champagne exclusively for him, named Cristal, which later on became the signature drink of the Russian Tsars.
“Until this day, our champagne house is independent and family owned. The brand itself is a symbol of quality, and we make various types of champagne, all with a different taste and personality,” Michel says as he is looking at my attire, especially at my shoes, a pair of beige Mary Janes. “But for you, I would recommend that you only drink rosé vintage, because you look very feminine and delicate,” he adds.
It is not difficult for a French gentleman to make a woman blush like a glass of pink champagne with such a comment. According to Michel, one needs to discover the beauty of rosé during dinner, a time when the wine of life sparkles elegantly, like the eyes of a lady. Cellar Master Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon once described the characteristic of a Roederer rosé as a perfect expression of the concentration, fruitiness, and compactness of the Cumières Pinot noir grapes transcended by the elegance, purity, and freshness of the finest Chardonnay grapes cultivated on the Côte des Blancs.
A blend of 65% Pinot noir and 35% Chardonnay, 20% of which is wine matured in oak tuns, the Roederer rosé is matured on lees for 4 years and left for a minimum of 6 months after dégorgement (disgorging) to attain perfect maturity. Louis Roederer decided to invest in the vineyards at Cumières because the shallow calcareous clay soil situated on south-facing slopes bathed in the light reflected from the banks of the river Marne creates the circumstances for the grapes to attain optimum phenolic maturity, which is difficult to achieve in the changeable Champagne climate.
The moment Michel hands me a glass of Roederer rosé, I cannot take my eyes off the beige pink liquid with a glittering, golden hue. After marveling at the incredible color, I take a sip. The fruity aromas of wild red berries are unmistakable, followed by floral notes, with sugary and spicy fragrance of zest. Then, aromas of dried fruit and cocoa resulting from the wine’s vinifying in oak tuns kick in. Rich and full-bodied, the champagne exalts the maturity of the grape.
The wine opens with an initial impression of freshness and lingers on smoothly with exotic notes, combined with the pure minerality of the Chardonnay grapes. “This is truly sensuous and rich, racy, but in a subtle manner, like a lady who enjoys flirting, but knows her boundaries. The wine is also extremely feminine in its floral aromatic composition and has definitely now become one of my favorites,” I comment. “See, I was right from the moment I saw you,” he responds with a wink.
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