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Champagne Louis Roederer are delighted to receive the highest score in the ‘Classics Category’ in Decanter’s Wines of the Year 2023 for Collection 243.

“From Champagne, Bordeaux, Tuscany and Piedmont, to South Africa, Alsace and Germany, the Classics category in Decanter’s Wines of the Year 2023 took home the lion’s share of the top scores”

“The three top-scoring traditional-method sparkling wines generated huge interest and discussion when tasted, and [Michaela] Morris was ‘delighted’ our Sparkling Wine of the Year went to a non-vintage champagne in Louis Roederer’s Collection 243. ‘It’s a real benchmark for the category – what more could you want?'”

The Panel Tasting Review, tasted by Tina Gellie, Anne Krebiehl MW and Michaela Morris, 02 Nov 2023

95 Points

“Launching with 241 in 2021, Collection replaced Brut Premier as Louis Roederer’s multi-vintage cuvée, the collection number allowing consumers to identify the vintage of the base wine so they can choose their preferred level of youth or maturity. Collection 243 is based on the 2018 vintage, incorporating 31% of wine from a perpetual reserve that was started in 2012, as well as 10% from oak-aged reserve wines from vintages between 2009 and 2017. A blend of 42% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir and 18% Pinot Meunier with a dosage of 8g/L, a quarter of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation.

Tina Gellie: Great mousse and vibrant aromas of crunchy, fresh green apple, then a palate of more tangy apple and lemongrass riffs, digestive biscuit nuttiness and a wonderful chalky texture. Elegant, complex and impossible not to like. Anne Krebiehl MW: Subtle autolysis on the nose, lemony hints, fine mousse on a bright, balanced body. Beautifully clean and rounded while staying elegant and bright.

Michaela Morris: An elegant and precise nose exudes hints of pie crust, chalky minerals and pure citrus. Delicate and refined with depth and layers. Truly classic and gorgeously attractive, with telltale chalkiness at the fore. What more could you want?