Review: Wines of Roederer Estate, 2025 Releases
In France, Roederer is best known as the producer of the iconic Cristal Champagne, but its U.S. operations in California’s Anderson Valley also merit serious attention. Today we’re checking out three wines from the operation — a vintage-dated bottling and two non-vintage wines, though, per Roederer, both are technically better described as “multi-vintage” blends. We’ll let the wines do the talking from here.
NV Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley – A blend of 40% pinot noir and 60% chardonnay, with 10 to 15% reserve wine in the mix. Creamy and vanilla-laced, this sparkler has a bright green apple quality evident that runs through it from start to finish. Sharp and crisp, the fruit is thick and layered, slowly evolving from fresh-cut fruit to baked apples cooked in a tart, complete with crisp pastry dough elements. Notes of guava give the finish an exotic bent, a pinch of saline helping to temper what is otherwise a sweeter-than-expected conclusion. A- / $32
NV Roederer Estate Brut Rose Anderson Valley – This 56% pinot noir and 44% chardonnay sparkler (again with with 10 to 15% reserve wine included) presents as a very creamy expression that isn’t all that acidic. Instead, those mellower vanilla notes give the wine a strawberries-and-cream consistency, tempered by a growing bitterness that imbues the wine with touches of rhubarb and some grapefruit peel. That rounded body remains present and powerful from start to finish, landing in the end on a brighter punch of Meyer lemon. B+ / $39
2020 Roederer Estate Clark Road Vineyard Anderson Valley – This vintage-dated estate-grown wine, also a blend of pinot and chardonnay, is decidedly elevated over the non-vintage offerings, showcasing a creamy and lightly yeasty attack that is nevertheless filled with fruit, particularly lemon and later slightly sour grapefruit. Melon and crisp apple emerges as the wine opens up and gets a bit of warmth, and as with the Brut there’s a touch of salinity on the finish that keeps it all quite fresh. There’s lots of depth and nuance to explore in what is otherwise a classic California sparkler — and well worth the modest upcharge. A / $45
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