x
  • Country ranking ?

    1 201
  • Producer ranking ?

    92
  • Decanting time

    15min
  • When to drink

    2020-2035
  • Food Pairing

    Salmon and avocado blinis

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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Wine Enthusiast - Roger Voss - December 01, 2013

94 Points "Still young and fruity, this is a wine with impressive potential. For now, enjoy the palest of rosé colors, bright red fruits, and crisp and lively acidity. In the next several years, this will deepen and mellow, so keep and don’t drink until 2017."

International Wine Cellar - Josh Raynolds - December 01, 2013

92 Points "High-pitched red berry and floral aromas are complicated by notes of candied rose, toasty lees and minerals. Densely packed and lively, offering sappy raspberry and blood orange flavors and a touch of rose pastille that gains strength with air. Closes with excellent clarity and cut, leaving suave floral and smoky mineral notes behind. I like the mix of power and finesse here."

Wine & Spirits - Joshua Greene - December 01, 2013

95 Points "With the delicate color or a classic saignée Champagne, this has the powerful expression of a grand cru wine, performing beyond its premier cru status. The fragrant red fruit has rich succulence and a chalky undertow, along with a fierce acidity that needs time to temper in the bottle."

Wine Spectator - Alison Napjus - November 30, 2013

92 Points "Sleek and mouthwatering, with spice and sea salt notes underscoring flavors of white raspberry, biscuit, candied ginger and orange zest. Refined and racy. Drink now through 2023."

vinousmedia.com - Antonio Galloni - November 01, 2013

93 Points "Roederer's 2008 Brut Rosé captures the energy and tension of the year in its pure, mineral-inflected flavors, bright acidity and bracing minerality. A weightless, gracious wine, the 2008 Brut Rosé isn't an obvious wine, rather it is a Champagne that impresses with its exceptional balance and class. Readers who want to understand what makes 2008 such a compelling vintage in Champagne will want to check out the Brut Rosé. It is fabulous."

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The Story

In order for grapes to be used in the creation of a great rosé champagne, they have to attain perfect maturity, which is sometimes difficult to achieve in the changeable Champagne climate. This is why Louis Roederer decided to invest in the vineyards at Cumières, where the shallow calcareous clay soil, which is on south-facing slopes bathed in the light reflected from the banks of the river Marne, enables the grapes to attain optimum phenolic maturity.

A blend of around 65% Pinot noir and 35% Chardonnay, 20% of which is wine matured in oak tuns, the Rosé Vintage cuvée is generally matured on lees for 4 years and left for a minimum of 6 months after dégorgement (disgorging) to attain perfect maturity.

The wine has fruity aromas of wild red berries, followed by floral notes, and the sugary and spicy fragrance of zest; and the aromas of dried fruit and cocoa result from the wine’s vinifying in oak tuns. Rich and full-bodied, the Rosé Vintage exalts the maturity of the fruit. A sparkling wine with an initial impression of freshness, it opens smoothly with almost exotic notes, combined with the pure minerality of the Chardonnay grapes.

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Wine Information

HARVESTS
It was a very trying year in our vineyards: a rainy, stormy spring made matters very tense. Flowering was difficult, with a high proportion of coulure and millerandage resulting in small, concentrated bunches. However the summer was dry but cool, with little sunshine, thus entailing slow ripening that in turn was both ‘continental’ (i.e. dry) and ‘septontrional’ (northern, i.e. cool). September brought with it a final surprise with anticyclone conditions, apart from some heavy showers on 12 and 13 September. All of this combined to produce exceptionally favourable conditions, contributing to ideal, steady, slow ripening for the grapes, and thus an outstanding natural balance between freshness and concentrated flavours. Harvesting began at very “traditional” dates in mid-September.

ELABORATION
70% Pinot noir – 30% Chardonnay – 20% wines matured in wood (oak barrels) with weekly batonnage; no malolactic fermentation.
To make its rosé champagnes, Louis Roederer always uses the saignée method following skin-contact maceration – this may last five to eight days in the liquid phase. The Brut Rosé cuvée ages for an average of four years in cellars and also spends six months resting after disgorging to complete its maturation.

DOSAGE : fine-tuned for each vintage, to between 8 and 10 g/l.

STYLE
Elegant, delicate fruitiness (red fruits), full-bodied and with a smooth wininess.

TASTING
A fine, very brilliant, salmony pink colour, with deep, shimmering highlights
The elegant, discrete bubbles are also rich and creamy

The nose is fascinatingly precise and intense. The fruitiness is clearly dominated by the purity of saignée Pinot Noir, with a steady flow of slightly acidic red fruits (redcurrant, wild raspberry) and citrus fruit (orange, grapefruit). All of these fruity aromas reflect clear hints of punchy, mineral aromatic freshness. After a few minutes of airing, there are riper, warmer, sweeter notes (jelly), hints of lightly roasted nuts (hazelnut) and even cocoa powder!
The bite is lively, with strong sparkling fruitiness. The concentration of fresh fruit flavours and juiciness gives the vintage a full, almost creamy, texture. The strong winey personality of the great continental Pinot Noirs of 2008 is immediately apparent. The matter is rich, but immediately followed by the fine, long limestone freshness that is so typical of Champagne. The bubbles are completely harmonious, blending perfectly into this enduring, fresh experience. The finish is marked by a chalky mineral quality with salty hints, combined with a light touch of tannin which should fade gradually over time.

This Brut Rosé has all the strength, concentration, raciness and freshness of 2008 – a truly great year for vins de garde. It is very definitely a Pinot Noir year, exceptionally well-suited to laying down. Sampled with scallops, this wine once again confirms its gourmet qualities. We recommend opening it a good hour before drinking, keeping it cool, to enjoy its full potential.

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Vintage 2008

2008 -The Champagne vintage set to make history!

A first taste of leading winemakers’ 2008 champagnes reveals a miraculous vintage, bubbling with potential, which – whisper it – might just prove the greatest in living memory.

2008 was not, by any standards, a vintage year for the financial world. And for the greater part of it, 2008 was a pretty poor year for Champagne too: spring was freezing, summer gloomy and overcast. But then, around the time that Lehman Brothers was heading for total collapse, a little miracle occurred in the vineyards of Ambonnay, Bouzy and Ay: the weather turned, the fruit started to ripen and the Champenois suddenly found themselves on course for a vintage that is now, on its release, being hailed as one of the best in a generation.

"2008 is one of the greatest champagne vintages of my lifetime," says Tom Stevenson, co-author of the Christie's World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine and founder of the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships. "So fine and focused, unbelievably long, with great precision, purity and intensity, yet barely perceptible weight."

High-profile 2008s launched this year includes Cristal, Dom Pérignon and Pol Roger Winston Churchill. Several more biggies are still to come, including Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne. But already, 2008 is drawing comparisons with some of champagne’s most legendary vintages. "From what I have seen so far, 2008 is the best young champagne vintage I have ever tasted," says Alastair Woolmer of Farr Vintners. "The 2008s have a very similar energy and intensity to the great 1996s, but with arguably better balance and more consistency. It could well prove to be the best champagne vintage since 1988. "

"I think the 2008 is my best Cristal to date," says Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, chef de cave of Louis Roederer (which produces the prestige cuvée Cristal). "It was a very dry, cool summer, so we have this freshness, this bright line of acidity running through the wine that is typical of great vintages and particularly great Cristal. But it has a velvety texture, too, that will no doubt give it great longevity. "

"Weatherwise, it was a vintage very much in line with 1996, but this time we tried not to make the same mistakes," he says. "In 1996 we picked too early, so we picked later in 2008. We used virtually no oak fermentation in '96, we used more in 2008. We used a little more malolactic fermentation to soften the acidity in 2008. And last, but not least, we kept it 10 years on lees, compared to '96, which we launched after just six years on the lees - that's a big difference. So I think the wines have a texture the ’96 didn’t have in the end. It's a wine with super potential. "

The vintage (£ 279 from Berry Bros & Rudd) may still be young by Cristal standards, but it's already very engaging - salty, citrusy, like pineapple dipped in seawater, with a glorious, creamy mousse. It has that characteristic Louis Roederer flawlessness, but it's also incredibly exuberant. "It's a very, very strong vintage," Lecaillon agrees. "It could be the most 'Cristal" yet of the Cristals! "

Dom Pérignon’s chef de cave Richard Geoffroy is similarly effusive about 2008. "It was a miracle year," he says. "The whole summer ripening period was so-so - gloomy, overcast, gray. We had accepted it was going to be average, but then, just a couple of days before picking, it became outstanding. So the strategy became to hold the picking back, for it to be as slow as could be. It ended up being one of the longest harvests ever, close to four weeks. So much of 2008’s grandeur comes from working with those constraints and turning them into opportunities. "

 

From far left: Louis Roederer Cristal, £ 279 from Berry Bros & Rudd. AR Lenoble Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Chouilly, £ 63 from The Whiskey Exchange. Eric Rodez Ambonnay Grand Cru Pinot Noir Les Beurys & Les Secs, £ 92 from Wine Source. Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame, about £ 150 from Clos19. Dom Pérignon Champagne, £ 147 from Clos19

Dom Pérignon 2008 (£ 147 from Clos19) is a blend, more or less like all Dom Pérignons, of equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The result is a wine with serious sex appeal: bright and sherbetty up top, more rich and honeyed beneath. On the nose, there’s a whiff of gunpowder - a smoldering, savory scent that’s a trademark of the house. "A lot of people draw comparisons with 1996," says Geoffroy, "but the 2008 has more substance. It's a bit more 'pumped up' - athletic, even. "

The launch of Dom Pérignon 2008 - which was previewed to a small number of journalists in June but launches properly in early 2019 - is particularly piquant for Geoffroy because it marks his retirement after 28 years as one of champagne’s most glamorous chefs de cave. Geoffroy’s shoes will be filled by his deputy, 42-year-old Vincent Chaperon - a succession that Dom Pérignon is marking with a special Legend Edition coffret for a small number of the 2008 bottles. "It's good that the transition is happening through the 2008," says Geoffroy philosophically, "because it's a vintage that's really pushing the envelope."

 

Dom Pérignon 2008 (£147 from Clos19) is a blend, more or less like all Dom Pérignons, of equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The result is a wine with serious sex appeal: bright and sherbetty up top, more rich and honeyed beneath. On the nose, there’s a whiff of gunpowder – a smouldering, savoury scent that’s a trademark of the house. “A lot of people draw comparisons with 1996,” says Geoffroy, “but the 2008 has more substance. It’s a bit more ‘pumped up’ – athletic, even.”

The launch of Dom Pérignon 2008 – which was previewed to a small number of journalists in June but launches properly in early 2019 – is particularly piquant for Geoffroy because it marks his retirement after 28 years as one of champagne’s most glamorous chefs de cave. Geoffroy’s shoes will be filled by his deputy, 42-year-old Vincent Chaperon – a succession that Dom Pérignon is marking with a special Legend Edition coffret for a small number of the 2008 bottles. “It’s good that the transition is happening through the 2008,” says Geoffroy philosophically, “because it’s a vintage that’s really pushing the envelope.”

2008 was also a seismic year for Veuve Clicquot: cellar master Dominique Demarville was so impressed by the quality of the Pinot Noir that he made a major adjustment to the house’s prestige cuvée La Grande Dame (about £150 from Clos19), bumping up the percentage of Pinot Noir from 60 per cent to 92 per cent (with the remaining eight per cent being Chardonnay) – a change that he’s maintained ever since. “I had wanted to increase the amount of Pinot Noir in La Grande Dame to give it a stronger signature, to get that full body and length, for some time. And 2008 was a great year for Pinot Noir,” he says. “The gentle ripening season resulted in base wines with wonderful balance – depth and richness and body and acidity.” Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2008 is majestic: succulent, firm and full of apple and bramble fruit, borne on a great whoosh of fine, silky fizz. Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2008 will be released in early 2019.

Different houses interpret a vintage in different ways, but the hallmark of 2008 is that brilliant, mouth‑watering acidity. In a blind tasting I did of 2008s and ’09s with Nick Baker of champagne merchants The Finest Bubble, the ’09s were consistently more fruity, more evolved and often deeper in colour, while the ’08s were brighter, tighter and more high-definition. You could spot them a mile off.

Partly as a consequence of that acidity, the 2008 vintage has, as a rule, matured more slowly than 2009, a fact that led a number of houses, including Dom Pérignon, to break with tradition and release the two vintages in reverse chronological order: 2009 first, 2008 second.

Having said that, I think many of the 2008s are already tasting absolutely delicious. And a couple have already won top awards. At the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships 2017, the Chairman’s Trophy went to AR Lenoble’s 2008 Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Chouilly (£63 from The Whisky Exchange) – a luxuriant champagne that proved 2008 wasn’t just a year for Pinot Noir but Chardonnay too. “The vintage 2008 in Champagne was the best vintage following 2002,” says Antoine Malassagne, winemaker and co-owner of AR Lenoble with his sister Anne. “The rich, natural creaminess found in our Chardonnay grapes from the grand cru village of Chouilly was able to express itself beautifully.”

Piper-Heidsieck’s crystalline 2008 (£70 from The Finest Bubble) won World Champion Vintage Brut Blend in the same competition. “If 2008 has any flaw, it is that its wines are so perfect,” says CSWWC chairman Tom Stevenson. “Truly talented chefs de cave are skilled at blending together interlocking components of imperfection. Even in great years, it is the blender’s skill at the assemblage that creates a polished champagne, but in 2008, each base wine was so beautifully balanced in its own right that combining them threatened to do more harm than good. Some got it wrong and produced champagnes that were too angular and mean, but plenty of others made great 2008s. Many of the very best 2008s have yet to be released, but I have no hesitation in claiming that 2008 is the greatest Dom Pérignon vintage ever produced.”

2008 may have come good in the end, but for many, at the time, it was incredibly stressful. The sheer exhaustion of nurturing vines during a tricky growing season – which often called for night forays into the vineyards – caused Eric Rodez, a former cellar master at Krug, who now makes a range of cult cuvées under his own name, to press two separate plots of Pinot Noir as one, a mistake he only realised after bottling. “As a result, what is normally Les Beurys in any other vintage is Les Beurys & Les Secs Pinot Noir 2008 that year,” he admits, cheerfully. “This wine should not be made again, it is unique to 2008.” 

Rodez’s mistake will no doubt only add to the cachet of his 2008 Ambonnay Grand Cru Pinot Noir Les Beurys & Les Secs (£92 from Wine Source) – a champagne marked by aromatic, cherry fruitiness and fresh minerality. But he still has some more surprises up his sleeve. “We have in the cellars two secret cuvées to be released when the time comes,” he reveals, cryptically. “Patience, patience.”

I’ve tasted fantastic 2008s from the cooperatives too. In the 08/09 blind tasting with The Finest Bubble, Palmer & Co Brut Millésimé 2008 squared up magnificently to the prestige cuvées – it combined a shimmering, almost Roederer-like citrussiness with the snap of pale, buttery shortbread. A great buy at £46.95 a bottle for a case of 12.

If you move fast, there may also still be a few bottles left of Berry Bros & Rudd’s own-label 2008 (£36 each), produced by the Mailly cooperative in the Montagne de Reims – a champagne that’s all pale stone fruit and lean, chalky purity.

There is a lot about the 2008s that’s already pretty irresistible – but hold off drinking them for now, if you can, says Alastair Woolmer. “At this early stage, they are fascinating to taste, but due to their laser-like acidity, they will only reveal their true potential and pleasure with about 20 years of age. Truly great champagne vintages like this need bottle age to be at their best. This is a vintage to go long on and reap the rewards in years to come.”

by Alice Lascelles.

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

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Written Notes

Roederer Rosé Vintage 2008 / A fine, very brilliant, salmony pink colour, with deep, shimmering highlightsThe elegant, discrete bubbles are also rich and creamy
The nose is fascinatingly precise and intense. The fruitiness is clearly dominated by the purity of saignée Pinot Noir, with a steady flow of slightly acidic red fruits (redcurrant, wild raspberry) and citrus fruit (orange, grapefruit). All of these fruity aromas reflect clear hints of punchy, mineral aromatic freshness. After a few minutes of airing, there are riper, warmer, sweeter notes (jelly), hints of lightly roasted nuts (hazelnut) and even cocoa powder!


The bite is lively, with strong sparkling fruitiness. The concentration of fresh fruit flavours and juiciness gives the vintage a full, almost creamy, texture. The strong winey personality of the great continental Pinot Noirs of 2008 is immediately apparent. The matter is rich, but immediately followed by the fine, long limestone freshness that is so typical of Champagne. The bubbles are completely harmonious, blending perfectly into this enduring, fresh experience. The finish is marked by a chalky mineral quality with salty hints, combined with a light touch of tannin which should fade gradually over time.


This Brut Rosé has all the strength, concentration, raciness and freshness of 2008 – a truly great year for vins de garde. It is very definitely a Pinot Noir year, exceptionally well-suited to laying down. Sampled with scallops, this wine once again confirms its gourmet qualities. We recommend opening it a good hour before drinking, keeping it cool, to enjoy its full potential.

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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Other wines from this producer

Blanc de Blancs

Brut Nature Rosé

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Carte Blanche Demi-Sec

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Collection 241

Collection 242

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Coteaux Champenois Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Hommage à Camille

Cristal

Cristal Rosé

Cristal Rosé Vinothèque

Cristal Vinothèque

Rosé Brut

Vintage

Vintage Blanc de Blancs

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