Roederer Estate L’Ermitage 1997 (Archive)
Reviews
90 Points
Wine Enthusiast December 1, 2002
This half-and-half blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is often referred to as California’s best. This year, it’s very dry, with nuanced flavors of citrus, peach and yeast. But it feels a little rough on the palate. This youthful scour should soften in a few years.
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: 55% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir – 4% aged reserve wine
Titratable Acidity: 0.96
pH: 2.97
Residual Sugar: 11.8 g/L
Cases Produced: 3,230 750ml cases
Tasting Notes
Yellow color, moderate fizz intensity. Mineral notes, riesling, bread crust, flint and some notes of evolution and honey. Clean and crisp mouthfeel with green apples and caramel.
Latest tasting done on April 2009.
