Louis Roederer et Starck Brut Nature 2015 – 750ml Not specified

94pts Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

The most compelling rendition of this bottling that Roederer has produced to date, the 2015 Brut Nature exhibits inviting aromas of golden orchard fruit, clear honey, dried white flowers and wet stones. Medium to full-bodied, layered and vinous, with a fleshy, concentrated core of fruit, chalky structure and a long, precise finish, it’s a Pinot Noir-dominant blend from Cumières that’s slightly lower in pressure, making for a more delicate mousse.

95pts James Suckling

This is very minerally and stony, with chalk and salt and oyster-shell undertones. It’s full-bodied and layered, yet remains intense with a lively finish. Done dry. Umami. No dosage. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Field blend from a single plot in Cumieres. Better in a few years. Drink or hold.

Winemaker Notes

Yellow hue with shimmering highlights and an even flow of lively bubbles. The bouquet is pure, elegant, vertical, rich and concentrated. Nuances of ripe fruit combined with exceptional finesse: fine, delicate citrus peel (lemon, orange) and vanilla (Madagascar bourbon vanilla) along with warmer notes of baked apple and Tarte Tatin that gradually give way to aromas of nougat. The palate offers a marked and singular contrast: it is very expressionist thanks to the broad, juicy, almost sensual texture of the Cumières clay soils in a sunny year, yet distinctly minimalist due to a fresh, pure, mineral and mouthwatering backbone associated with its zero dosage. Ripe citrus fruit combines with warm stone notes further accentuating the mouthwatering, umami sensation. The finish is light, energetic and ethereal.

Champagne Louis Roederer’s Brut Nature is a champagne without artifice, conceived as an exchange, forged by a long-standing friendship with Philippe Starck. Abstract conversations between Frédéric Rouzaud, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon and Philippe Starck began with a few very specific descriptors which formed the foundations for the Brut Nature: honest, minimal, diagonal, modern.

Brut Nature 2015, the fourth opus of this cuvée, is an intense and perfectly honed wine. It is very expressive yet also minimalist, pure, fresh and elegant.