Roederer Estate L’Ermitage 2017 (Current)
Price: $75.00
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.
A wet 2016-2017 winter Anderson Valley was followed by a cool, wet and windy spring. Late May rains impacted the vineyard bloom, resulting in an average year for yields. Summer saw a slow ripening pattern with acidity remaining high. A heat wave in early September kick-started harvest in the estate's late-ripening parcels. As we scrambled to harvest the fruit, maturation with fairly high sugar and balanced acidity was the norm for the remaining part of harvest.
Tech
Varietals: 52% Chardonnay, 46% Pinot Noir, 2% Pinot Meunier — 4.9% aged reserve wine from 2012
Wine Alcohol: 13.2%
pH: 3.07
Harvest Start Date: August 14, 2017
Harvest End Date: September 19, 2017
Dosage: 7.5 g/L
Tasting Notes
Fine tiny bubbles and a long lasting mousse are the usual footprints of the L’Ermitage cuvée. Rich aromatics of butter pastry and Asian pear. Broad entry, clean mouthfeel. Quince freshness and texture. Soft and gentle finish. A L’Ermitage from a warmer vintage with power and richness.
