Louis Roederer Brut Vintage 'Late Release' 1997 - 75cl
Roederer disgorged this wine on 23 March 2004, gave it a lower dosage than the standard release of the day, and then did something most houses won't — left it lying on cork in the cellar, untouched, for years afterward. The "Late Release" isn't extra time on the lees; it's extra time in bottle after disgorgement, the slow post-disgorgement evolution that turns a good vintage Champagne into a mature one.
1997 was a tricky year in Champagne — a cold, wet summer rescued by a warm September — and it produced soft, forward wines not built for the very long haul. Which makes Roederer's patience the point. The blend is 62% Pinot Noir and 38% Chardonnay, around a third through malolactic and a small fraction oak-fermented, dosed at 9g/l. Time has done the rest.
In the glass it's mid-gold, the mousse fine and gentle. The nose is complex and savoury — stone fruit, toast and biscuit, a touch of farm butter and nuttiness, then something more mineral and smoky with air, an iodine, almost truffly edge. The palate is concentrated but dissolves cleanly into a dry, saline finish. A Champagne to sip slowly and think about.
Drink this now — it's at its peak and there's no upside in waiting. Save it for a quiet, knowing dinner rather than a crowd; it rewards people who'll pay attention.
How to Serve
10-12°C. Reach for white-wine glasses or generous tulips over flutes — a wine this developed needs air to give up its truffle and toast. No decant; let the glass warm a degree or two.
Where to Drink It
Wiltons on Jermyn Street, whose old-school dining room matches the wine's maturity. Bentley's for oysters and a mature fizz. Or The Connaught for a slow, considered evening.
Food Pairings
Roast chicken or guinea fowl meets its savoury, buttery register beautifully. As an aperitif, wafer-thin slices of aged Comté draw the nutty, truffled notes right out.
