2017 Louis Roederer Vintage Brut Rosé

60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir. Sourced from Roederer’s ‘La Rivière’ estate in Cumières and Chouilly. 29% aged in oak, 24% malolactic conversion. Dosage 8 g/l. Very subtle rosé hue, almost a brut non-rosé in colour. Leafy, soft and silky on the palate. Raspberry/strawberry cut with lemon acidity and a mineral streak. A fine vintage rosé. (AWH)

Incorporating “the survivors of 2017,” as Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon notes, Roederer’s 2017 Brut Vintage Rosé is a fine effort in a year that was particularly challenging for red grapes, which were pressured by gray rot come harvest time. Heavily based on Pinot Noir, with fruit carefully selected during picking in Cumières, complemented by Chardonnay sourced from Chouilly, it offers a bouquet of strawberries, candied orange zest and spices. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, textural and ample, with a delicate infusion of Pinot Noir phenolics, vibrant acidity and a sapid finish. Disgorged with eight grams per liter dosage, it does not quite match the precision of its immediate predecessor.

From a very difficult year, the 2017 Champagne Vintage Rose is co-fermented from a blend made at harvest time. It pours a pristine bright salmon color and shimmers in the glass, offering notes of peaches, fresh berries, white pepper, and Mirabel. The palate has surprisingly good tension and lovely focus. A superb and more gastronomic wine, it has a hint of warmth, but it is more the spice that comes through. Drink 2025-2045.