Roederer Estate L’Ermitage 1989 (Archive)
Reviews
92 Points, #96 in Top 100
Wine Spectator November 30, 1993
A wonderful example of just how good California bubbly can be. Creamy and rich, a toasty wine with pear and hazelnut notes that keep singing on the finish. A graceful bubbly with style and plenty of flavor, a lot like a fine Champagne.
Overview
Founded in 1982, Roederer Estate is nestled in Mendocino County’s fog-shrouded, Anderson Valley. As the California property of Champagne Louis Roederer, Roederer Estate builds upon a centuries-old tradition of fine winemaking. The premium grape growing region’s proximity to the Pacific ocean gives rise to a gentle cycle of warm days and cool nights, allowing grapes to mature slowly on the vine and develop full varietal character.
Among the very few California sparkling wine houses that only sources estate-grown fruit, Roederer Estate is also meticulous about all its farming decisions. The winemaking process begins with in-depth knowledge of the Estate soils to introduce open lyre trellis system or high density plantation, extends to the decision to farm vineyards organically and biodynamically, and finishes by painstakingly tracking grape maturity to achieve perfect balance at harvest.
L’Ermitage, Roederer Estate’s special Tête de Cuvée, is a sparkling wine made only in exceptional years from pre-selected, estate-grown grapes. Carrying on the tradition of Champagne Louis Roederer in France, Roederer Estate produces its sparkling wines in the traditional French méthode traditionelle and adds special oak-aged reserve wines to each blend. L’Ermitage debuted with the 1989 vintage.
Winemaking
Roederer Estate wines are made with juice from just the cuvée pressing; no première or deuxième taille is used. The concept of the vintage L’Ermitage is the same one that is used in Champagne: Only the best of the vintage is selected. These are exceptional wines that create a noble blend that allows for longer aging, which produces a fine wine with elegance and finesse.
Tech
Appellation: Anderson Valley, California, United States
Varietals: 59.4% Chardonnay, 40.6% Pinot Noir – 4.7% aged reserve wine, vintage 1988
Wine Alcohol: 12.4%
Titratable Acidity: 0.99
pH: 2.99
Residual Sugar: 11.3 g/L
Cases Produced: 4,600 750ml cases
Tasting Notes
Deep gold color; very complex, quite aged and very appealing, nice oxidative qualities: butterscotch; some mushroom notes; medium bodied, dry, very good acidity, fine balance.
Latest tasting done on April 2018.
