Description / Reviews
// 54% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir and 11% Pinot Meunier
2021 base vintage (55%), with perpetual reserve wines from '12 to '20 (35%) and additional 10% reserve wines from '12 to '17 aged in oak (10%)
Aged on lees for three years before disgorgement early 2025
7g/L dosage
"Collection 246 is a precise, soft and lively champagne. Its thirst-quenching lightness comes from the exceptional proportion of Chardonnay, which creates finesse, elegance, chalkiness and salinity. It is not unlike the character of certain Blancs de Blancs. The bouquet reveals yellow fruits (mirabelle plum and nectarine) and candied citrus (lemon), complemented by toasted, oaky notes (vanilla) which come from the 24% of wines vinified in our French oak foudres. The fine reductive notes (shellfish) weave their spell, giving the wine a very chiselled character sculpted by the Chardonnay. The palate is very light and delicate with fruity (peach) and floral (pollen) flavours. The gently releasing bubbles are soft and creamy, creating a mouth-watering impression thanks to the savoury and dry-chalk sensations created on the tongue and lips. The texture on the mid-palate is fresh, oily, powdery and vibrant. The finish is serene and graceful, and lifted by some smoky and toasty reductive notes that are very definitely from the Perpetual Reserve." - House Notes
"The Louis Roederer Collection 246 is a safe and reliable purchase for extreme class, poise and seduction. It starts with hints of struck match and flint, stretching out into toasted rye bread and buckwheat. It has great concentration, a lacy and silky mousse, and lots of fresh acidity. A huge presence, melding pastry and brioche with lots of citrus freshness and complexity. Super. Top stuff." - 95 Points, Natalie Earl, Decanter
"A beautifully weighted and pure NV Champagne from Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. Hits all the right spots. Plenty of weight and creamy texture, balanced by precise, focused fruit flavours, a super-fine mousse and freshening, lingering acidity on the finish. The Collection project goes from strength to strength." - 17.5/20 Points, Andy Howard MW, JancisRobinson.com
"The NV Brut Collection 246 is positively stellar. It’s a terrific example of where Roederer is going with this cuvée stylistically. Brisk saline notes cut through a core of orchard fruit, mint, white pepper and slate. There are no hard angles or awkward contours. The 246 is based on 2021, an extremely tricky vintage for Champagne. Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon bumped up the percentage of Chardonnay considerably and focused on Pinots from the Montagne de Reims. About 30% of the lots underwent malolactic fermentation to soften the edges. Twenty-four percent of the wines were fermented in oak, the rest in tank. The 246 is impeccably done and absolutely delicious." - 93 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
