Wine of the week: Louis Roederer + Starck Brut Nature 2018

“Brut Nature is so honest, so minimalist, that I didn't want to add anything to it. Nothing but truth and honesty,” says the celebrated French designer, architect, and interior designer Philippe Starck. Brut Nature 2018 is the fifth vintage, the result of a collaboration between Louis Roederer and Philippe Starck. Conceived as “a true laboratory for the future of Champagne,” Brut Nature 2018 is defined as “a Champagne at the forefront of climate change, offering a new, solar-powered and refined edition, in both white and rosé.” The white version was launched on the market in 2006. It is not produced every year. By chance, it was reissued every three years: in 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018. But there will be a 2019 vintage. The rosé version debuted on the market with the 2012 vintage, and also had the 2015 and 2018 vintages.

The new 2018 vintage of these two champagnes was presented in the imposing setting of the Grand Palais in Paris, where Louis Roederer's general manager, Frédéric Rouzaud, stated that these sparkling wines are the result of "a story of friendship, freedom, and authenticity." He also noted that these champagnes are "honest and authentic," the fruit of respectful artisanal production. Rouzaud revealed at the Grand Palais in Paris that, when he proposed this collaboration, Philippe Starck responded, "I'm interested in what's behind it, not the label." And so he proposed a minimalist label that has just debuted a design featuring "the bare minimum."

Frédéric Rouzaud notes that "by letting us interpret his words, Philippe Starck allowed us to cross boundaries we wouldn't have crossed without his insight. The more precise he was in describing his dream, the more precise we could be in making the champagne."

For his part, Philippe Starck, who likes sugar-free wines, stated at the world premiere in the French capital that these champagnes are ideal for toasting in moments of joy, love, reunion, deep friendship, or celebration. Philippe Starck emphasizes that "Brut Nature is so honest, so minimalist, that I didn't want to add anything to it. It was necessary to intervene as little as possible. A few words on the bottle, essentially descriptive, like a winery note. Only the truth and honesty of the wine."

Sharing Philippe Starck's vision of less is more, "illustrated by the purity and understated elegance inherent in all his designs," the Maison Louis Roederer sought to capture this ideal of "joyful simplicity." They aimed to minimize environmental impact to maximize flavor, optimizing resources and energy, and evoking emotions through suggestion rather than imposition. This, they say, is the vision in which the creator and Louis Roederer's cellar master, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, found common ground and a shared sensibility. "Our ideas converged," it adds.

More than a champagne, it is billed as "a transversal work, born from the desire to create a pioneering, elegant, and honest cuvée." It was conceived as an exchange, forged by friendship. This vintage cuvée is, above all, the result of a free reflection on an encounter between a house embodied by Frédéric Rouzaud, President and CEO, its cellar master Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, and its creator Philippe Starck.

Louis Roederer + Starck Brut Nature Champagnes are the result of co-planting and co-fermentation. They claim that "following the example of our ancestors, who mixed the plants in the vineyard, Louis Roederer is returning to these practices, which favor the freshness of the wines and enhance their flavor." They are the result of organic farming practices and biodynamic inspiration. They optimize resources and energy in their production. They vinify ancient Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc, Arbanne, Petit Meslier, and Pinot Gris grape varieties. They are harvested together, in a single day.

They seek to capture "the strength of their complementarity and their adaptation over the years." In this sense, they point out that "Brut Nature is a permanent experiment, a wine in constant transformation that provokes our reflection on genetic diversity." They add that "it bears witness to a collective intelligence, always different, that tells the future of Champagne like never before." The base wines are aged on lees until June.

There are no blends of wines, no reserve wines, and no expedition liqueurs (without dosage). There are no added sulfites, and they do not practice malolactic fermentation, which gives them great tension. They define themselves as "the expression of the black soil of Cumières in a sunny year." They work with the premise of minimal intervention in both the vineyard and the winery. They try not to disturb either the place or the wine, explains Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, who emphasizes that "this culture of work done with delicacy and respect enhances the spirit of the place and the origins of the wine."

Its grapes grow in clay soils along the banks of the Marne, in three plots known as Les Chèvres, located on a small hill outside the village of Cumières. They total 10 hectares. They are produced only in dry, warm years. And they reflect its vision of a "climate change laboratory." Thus, after almost 20 years, this cuvée attests to the changes taking place in the Champagne region. It presents itself as a model of experimentation. At the same time, this historic Reims-based firm declares that it "heralds the champagne of tomorrow and inaugurates a path of experimentation." This breeding ground for innovation that is Brut Nature, they assert, "benefits all of Louis Roederer's champagnes, allowing us to better anticipate and adapt to changes."

Winemaker Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon describes the 2018 vintage as "exceptional and historic," noting that it "admirably maintains the original flavor of the grape." At the same time, he affirms that "it was a year for the terroir and the winemaker." It was a very warm, dry, generous, and well-balanced vintage. An exceptionally rainy winter was followed by a mild and stormy spring. The summer was especially warm, dry, and sunny, even surpassing the historical records of 2003. The harvest was abundant. Louis Roederer adds that "it is a glorious year, with fruit bursting with ripeness and saline energy."

“Brut Nature is so honest, so minimalist, that I didn't want to add anything around it.”

Philippe Starck Designer

Louis Roederer + Starck Brut Nature 2018 is made with Pinot Noir (55%), Pinot Meunier (25%), Chardonnay (20%), and traces of Pinot Blanc from the La Rivière vineyard. The grapes were harvested on September 2, 2018. Thirty-one percent of the wines are aged in French oak. It is a clear, bright, straw-yellow color. Its string of tiny bubbles rises steadily, initially forming a perfect crown in the glass.

It stands out for its purity and uncompromising dryness. It is extremely sharp and long. Very elegant, serious, restrained, fresh, and mineral (salinity and hints of iodine). With frank notes of citrus, mirabelle plum, slightly bitter almond, slightly toasted bread, and fresh fennel. The oak-aged wines are very well integrated. It is vibrant.

Louis Roederer describes it as “captivating, delicate, and refined.” They also note that “it exhibits great harmony and precision, revealing the incomparable limestone bed of the fresh Cumières terroirs.” They also note that “it is a fragrant delight that invites you to drink, and leaves an impression of great harmony and precision (neither acidic nor overripe).” They add that “it is at once fine and delicate, yet concentrated and dense with an unctuous, chalky finish.”

The rosé version is made with Pinot Noir (64%), Meunier (20%), Chardonnay (16%), and traces of Pinot Blanc. It has a pale, clear, and bright hue. It is the result of an infusion technique. The ripe red fruit gives it a certain roundness, despite its equally dry character. It exhibits a good balance between the fruit (blood orange, cherries, and raspberries) and the acidity. Its delicate carbonation creates tiny bubbles.

At Louis Roederer, they describe it as “a slender, charming Champagne, both seductive and structured, offering a dense body with a bright, juicy, and saline sensation.” They add that it “has oomph and a lot of charm.” Frédéric Rouzaud likes to pair this Champagne with salmon, Iberian ham, or Comté cheese. Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon prefers steamed scallops, and Philippe Starck prefers it with boiled eggs and caviar.

Both champagnes reflect the purity and elegance of the essential, without makeup or artifice, with transparency. They are presented in boxes whose interior has been conceived as a small theater "in which to tell the story of this wine and its creation." Upon opening, "the bottle is revealed in a simple and chic attire, stripped of all that is superfluous."

Louis Roederer + Starck Brut Nature 2018 AOC Champagne

Grape varieties: Pinot noir, pinot meunier, chardonnay and pinot blanc​Price: €110