Louis Roederer Vintage Rosé 2017 - 75cl

Roederer do not make their rosé the usual way. Rather than ferment a red wine and blend it in, they macerate Pinot Noir from Cumières and then run Chardonnay juice from Chouilly into that same vat, so the two ferment together. The house calls it infusion. In practice it weaves the colour and red fruit through the wine instead of layering them on top, and you notice it as texture more than flavour.

The Pinot comes off 35 small plots on the warm slopes at Cumières, picked in staggered passes as each one ripens; the Chardonnay from cooler chalk at Chouilly. This 2017 runs 62% Pinot Noir to 38% Chardonnay. It was a hard year — mild winter, April frost, then damp weather close to harvest that pushed grey rot onto the red grapes and forced ruthless sorting in the vineyard. Roederer put 21% of the still wines into large oak casks, blocked malolactic on all but 4% of the blend to protect the acidity, and gave it five and a half years on lees before disgorging in September 2023 at 8 g/l.

Pale copper-pink in the glass. Strawberry and candied orange peel, some spice, a bready note underneath from the lees time. The palate has more body than the colour suggests, with a faint phenolic grip from the skin contact and a saline, chalky close. Bright acidity. No sweetness to speak of.

How to Serve

9–11°C. A white-wine glass, or a small Burgundy bowl — there is enough substance here to want air, and a flute hides most of it. Open it a quarter of an hour before you pour.

Where to Drink It

J Sheekey, with the fish pie. Brat in Shoreditch, where the live-fire cooking suits it. The River Cafe on a warm evening, outside.

Food Pairings

Sea trout, roasted whole with the skin crisped. The oiliness of the fish wants that acidity, and the wine's light tannin gives it something to push against — this is the pairing I would make first. Rare duck breast is the richer alternative.