Louis Roederer - Champagne Brut Collection 242 NV

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James Suckling: 94 Points

Aromas of cooked apple, bread dough and lemon tart follow through to a full body with round, delicious fruit and a rich, flavorful finish. Yet, it remains tight and fine with lovely, compressed bubbles. New energy and freshness. Medium-to full-bodied with layers of fruit and vivid intensity. 42% chardonnay, 36% pinot noir and 22% pinot meunier. 8 grams dosage. Four years on the less. A new-format non-vintage that designates the year of the 242nd harvest, 2017, plus reserve wine of 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Wine Enthusiast: 94 Points

This is the first in a new series of nonvintage Champagnes that replaces the producer's well-known Brut Premier. Based around the 2017 vintage and blended with wines from six other years, the wine is dry while also having a rich, toasty character alongside mineral, white fruit and spice flavors. Drink now. - Roger Voss

A View from the Cellar: 93 Points

The Collection 242 was finished with a dosage of eight grams per liter and offers up a beautifully refined bouquet of apple, white peach, patissière, a complex base of chalky soil tones, a touch of fresh almond, dried flowers and a delicate framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and sports superb mid-palate depth, bright, zesty acids, utterly refined mousse and outstanding length and grip on the superbly balanced and complex finish. This is truly stunning non-vintage Brut! - John Gilman

Wine & Spirits: 93 Points

This first release of Roederer’s new Collection is based on the 2017 harvest, the 242nd for the house. This wine replaces Brut Premier. Jean-Bap- tiste Lécaillon bases the Collection blend on a “perpetual reserve,” held in stainless steel since 2012, with wine added in each vintage: half pinot noir, half chardonnay, none of it having undergone malolactic conversion. For the 242 blend, he included some oak- aged reserve wines before selecting individual parcel wines from partner growers, focusng on chardonnay, along with some meunier and pinot noir from the Marne Valley. The final blend is 34 percent perpetual reserve, 10 percent oak-aged reserves, and 56 percent from the 2017 harvest. While Brut Premier was a more spherical wine in the mouth, Collection 242 is finer, with greater length of flavor and more energy. The scent is floral and seashell-mineral, the texture caressing, then tense.

Wine Advocate: 93 Points

This debut release is very impressive indeed, wafting from the glass with notes of pear, peach, ripe citrus fruit, toasted almonds, fresh pastry and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and textural, it's concentrated and layered, with lively acids, an enlivening pinpoint mousse and a long, sapid finish. Brut Premier was already a very persuasive wine, but the new Brut Collection nevertheless represents a step up.- William Kelley