Champagne is responding to climate change with organic farming, sustainable packaging and environmentally conscious practices across the business. These bubbles reflect their conscientious efforts.
LOUIS ROEDERER COLLECTION 242
Cellar Master Jean-Baptiste Lecallion has retired the much-admired Brut Premier with a new cuvée: a multivintage champagne made in vintage style. The idea is to balance the vagaries of climate change with the certitude of reserve wine specially crafted from recent vintages called “la reserve perpetuelle”. Collection 242 is a reference to the 242nd harvest since the conception of the house of Roederer. The cuvée comprises 56% of the 2017 vintage, 34% perpetual reserve and 10% oak-aged reserve wines. Lemon skins and nutty notes lead the way, with finely beaded bubbles. Remarkably fresh and textural, it finishes with a lick of hazelnut and citrus rind on the palate. $75, Le Grand Vin
RUINART SECOND SKIN NV BLANC DE BLANCS
Ruinart has done away with the luxury boxes, and in its place comes the impermeable and opaque second skin. Made with enriched cellulose fibre, the case moulds around the bottle’s contours and forms an ecofriendly packaging. Sustainability is a global approach and is reflected in all aspects of production. Look closer, and the paper indents imitate Ruinart’s iconic chalk crayères. Enclosed within the innovative paper closure system is the seductive Ruinart Blanc de Blancs reminiscent of spring with lemon zest, ripe peaches, young ginger, clotted cream, and freshly baked croissants.
$119, 1855 The Bottle Shop
KRUG NV GRANDE CUVÉE 169ÈME ÉDITION
The 169th edition of the NV cuvée is composed around the harvest of 2013 and comes from 146 different wines from 11 years. Aged seven years on lees, the final composition is 43% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 22% Meunier. Vivacious and energetic bubbles bring forth a bouquet of citrus and orchard fruits and sweet pastry aromas. The autolytic notes of hazelnut and blanched almonds peep through the veil of fruity, floral notes. On the palate, the fine-textured mousse is complemented by racy acidity and a stony minerality. Finishes long. $248, The Moomba wine shop
