Louis Roederer : Coffret Vintage + 2 Flûtes 2014

Roederer’s 2014 Brut Vintage is beautiful, offering up aromas of pear, mirabelle plum, red berries, warm biscuits and smoke. Full-bodied, layered and elegantly muscular, it’s seamless and complete, with terrific mid-palate depth and amplitude. Framed by bright acids and enlivened by a pinpoint mousse, it concludes with a penetrating finish. The blend is 70% Pinot Noir, emphasizing Verzy, and pressure is a touch higher than in its more ethereal Blanc de Blancs counterpart. As I wrote of its 2013 predecessor, this is a wine that puts many prestige cuvées to shame.

Brilliant amber gold. Red dried apple, cassis notes and yellow tropical fruit combine with a touch of nougat and smoked bacon on the nose. Powerful, densely woven on the palate, an exciting interplay of minerality and acidity, with a light toasted savouriness in the background. Long and intense finish. Cool, full-bodied elegance with great ageing potential. Delicious with autumnal cuisine.

smoky, ashy, spicy, wrapped in a fine texture difficult to call it fruity, as the terroir resonates from its soil above all. The palate is fruit-forward, lacy with pulpy whiteness, and the finish swings toward polished grey metal