Twenty happy years

Last Friday marked 20 years since The Editor and I started sharing a flat; a reason for celebration if ever there was one! I popped one of my Louis Roederer Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2013. An excellent choice, it turned out.

For those who do not know, Roederer make approximately fifty times the amount of the Prestige Cuvée Cristal compared to the Blanc de Blancs. The Blanc de Blancs is the real small-volume, rarity of Roederer’s range.

Roederer Blanc de Blancs is a mono-cru Champagne, all from the village of Avize. Avize is a Grand Cru-rated village in the Cote des Blancs, and a damned good one at that. One wonders if the house style will dominate the character of the cru… Shall we see?

Last one to the Riedel cupboard is a poo face!

Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2013, Maison Louis Roederer

Lovely fruit on this nose, Bramley apple, zesty lemon plus crunchy pear and a hint of melon. All wonderfully attractive!

It is elegant, pretty and intricate, with a Chablis Grand Cru-like power hiding behind the delicious fruit and detailed minerality. I think this detailed, intricate character is a consequence of the cru where it is grown.

The weight and power seem to be partly from the cru and old vines used for this wine and partly from the Champagne House-style – fermentation in wood being the key factor here.

The palate has a lovely, soft, creamy character; a consequence of bottling at four atmospheres of pressure rather than the normal six used for most Champagne. This caresses and beguiles your palate with unadulterated love and scrumptiously winsome charm. It is really, really lovely.

This, coupled with the wonderful fruit, would make it a winning drink with just those characteristics. But there is more!

There is a thread of mineral intensity to it that is sophisticated and multifaceted. Lacy, if you like, in its intricacy. This just adds more to the raw charm – hell, it is distinctly titillating in terms of attractiveness with all this going on.

And with the power from the old vines, fermentation in wood and character of the cru, this could excite the most miserable of old gits with its throbbing class and tumescent quality. What a stonker! It is great!

The finish is long, with a great chalky grip to it. It seems fresh and energetic all the way through the drinking experience; what is not to love, with vigorous enthusiasm, about this wine? You could keep this for five years, but I rather think it is ripe for plucking now and I will be gobbling down my next bottle at the soonest appropriate opportunity.

Top stuff, to drink it is to adore it. Best shared with the love of your life.