93

Antonio Galloni

Vinous

Since this Sceptered Isle is amidst and unprecedented hot summer, the 2008 Brut Rosé from Louis Roederer goes down as an absolute treat. Frankly, it is one of the best rosé Champagnes out there. Pale salmon in colour, it sports a glorious bouquet of light red cherry and citrus fruit, quite steely at first but then developing with very subtle creamy notes. The palate is just beautifully balanced with perfectly judged acidity and a precise, pretty, mineral-tinged finish with hints of nectarine and strawberry. Everything in this 2008 is so detailed and elegant that it begs the question: why pay more for a grander label? 08/2018

96

Richard Juhlin

Richard Juhlin

Ridiculously good from the start. The essence of creamy rosé champagne. Comes in the glass in an enveloping affectionate way and it is impossible to defend against charm, elegance and grandeur. Another perfect 2008. Buy everything you see and drink now or in ten years. 06/2021

91

David Schildknecht

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate

In tasting Roederer’s 2008 Brut Rose, I am certainly reminded of the belief stated in their press releases that “a great rose Champagne must be made from very ripe grapes,” which, they go on to explain, is the reason why this cuvee is always predominantly informed by the steep, shallow-soiled, south-facing, waterside slopes of Cumieres. Certainly what has been extracted from the two-thirds Pinot here – colored via saignee – is an essence of ripe, juicy fresh red currant and red raspberry laced with lemon and orange rinds and perfectly set off by close to ten grams of residual sugar. A faintly sweaty tang and subtle suffusion of chalk add interest – and slight grain of tannin invigoration – to a lusciously refreshing but still very much fruit-dominated finish. I wouldn’t want to rule out some additional depth of flavor emerging over the next couple of years, but it would be a shame to miss out on this cuvee in its exuberantly fresh-fruited youth. Owners of vast vineyards (totally some 500 acres) that supply the majority of their fruit, Roederer also presides – by design as well as due to that vastness – over a mind-bending number of micro-vinifications, divided entirely between tanks and foudres, supplemented by a concomitantly deep and diverse range of reserve wines. But for all of the variety that these phenomena entail, scarcely any lots undergo malo-lactic transformation.