The Story
Fascinated by the diversity of aromas expressed by the Pinot Noir variety in Champagne, Louis Roederer decided to base its Vintage Brut on the structure and power of the Montagne de Reims Pinot Noirs—specifically in the historic cru of Verzy. These north-easterly facing vineyards take longer to ripen, producing wines that can sometimes be rough and confined at the start of the maturing process. However, their personality develops remarkably, b...
Wine Information
HARVESTING:
An exceptionally chaotic year with periods of extreme heat followed by periods of intense cold. There was first cold with very late aggressive spring frosts on the main vineyards (and particularly the whites) which resulted in a harvest loss of 50 to 80%. Then there was the August 2003 heat wave with record temperatures in the Champagne region (42°C) resulting in a loss of up to 50% of harvest due to withering. The unusual conditi...
Vintage 2003
A challenging vintage for Champagne in the face of an unprecedented heatwave during the summer months. The wines are characterised by the year's unusual circumstances. Large-scale frosts destroyed most of the projected yield and they were followed by hail and an extremely hot summer. Harvest was kick-started early on August 21st and yields remained minuscule at 8,100 kg/ha. Atypically round, ripe, sun-kissed wines that miss freshness and backb...
