Louis Roederer Collection 243 Magnum

This wine is in magnum format. 

95/100 - Collection 243 is based on the 2018 vintage, incorporating 31% of wine from a perpetual reserve that was started in 2012, as well as 10% from oak-aged reserve wines from vintages between 2009 and 2017. A blend of 42% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir and 18% Pinot Meunier with a dosage of 8g/L, a quarter of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation. Tina Gellie: Great mousse and vibrant aromas of crunchy, fresh green apple, then a palate of more tangy apple and lemongrass riffs, digestive biscuit nuttiness and a wonderful chalky texture. Elegant, complex and impossible not to like. Anne Krebiehl MW: Subtle autolysis on the nose, lemony hints, fine mousse on a bright, balanced body. Beautifully clean and rounded while staying elegant and bright. Michaela Morris: An elegant and precise nose exudes hints of pie crust, chalky minerals and pure citrus. Delicate and refined with depth and layers. Truly classic and gorgeously attractive, with telltale chalkiness at the fore. What more could you want? - Decanter

94/100 - Dried-lemon, apricot, green-apple, salted-almond, walnut and light caramel notes. Vinous and layered, with small and tight bubbles. Excellent focus and intensity. Based on 2018, with reserve wines going back to 2009. Dosage 8g/L. Drink now. - James Suckling

91/100 - Based on the 2018 vintage, the NV Brut Collection 243 bursts with aromas of honeyed peaches, citrus oil, toasted nuts, white flowers and buttery pastry. Medium to full-bodied, broad and fleshy, it's an open, giving iteration of Roederer's reimagined non-vintage Brut. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

17/20 - One-third each of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Collection 243 is their new cuvée, replacing Brut Premier NV. A higher percentage of specific vintage reserve wines aged in oak (10%), and a blend of their perpetual reserve (34%) first created in 2012, is used as the base plus selected wines from the current harvest (2017). 243 represents the number of different blended wines released by the house since being founded in 1776. Almost 80% of the fruit comes from their 240 ha of vineyards across the Montagne de Reims, Marne Valley and Côtes des Blancs. Each plot vinified separately before blending, bottling and lees-ageing for three years. Aged for six months post disgorgement. Subtle, muted nose promising riches beyond. Many-layered with quite a strong streak of lime. Lively, long and complex. Sophisticated, offering more than just age. Persistence too – in fact it builds on the end like a fine burgundy. - Jancis Robinson MW