Meet The Winemakers

Champagne Louis Roederer was established in 1776 and remains under the ownership of the Rouzaud family to this day. The current CEO is Frédéric Rouzaud, 7th generation of the Roederer family, while Chef de Cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon was appointed in 1999 following a decade working in the cellar under Frédéric’s father, Jean-Claude Rouzaud. With over 240 hectares of vineyards located exclusively in Grands and Premiers Crus villages, Champagne Louis Roederer is self-sufficient for approximately 70% of their non-vintage production and 100% of their vintage champagnes, a rare situation in Champagne.

Since 2000, the house has been conducting trials with organic and biodynamic viticulture. Today all the vineyards are farmed according to organic principles, with 50% of them certified organic and 50% of the them farmed biodynamically. The remainder of the vineyards will complete their organic certification over the next two years. This makes Roederer the largest farmers of organics and biodynamics in the Champagne region. The beating heart of Roederer is respect for nature, and thus sustainability, organic and biodynamic farming combined with the recognition of, research into and adaptation to climate change unequivocally improves the quality of the grapes and thus the champagne. In the words of Frédéric Rouzaud ‘We are not artists. At Maison Louis Roederer, the great artist is Nature and each year we are the interpreters of what she wants to give us. Our job is to take part in this choreography between Man and Nature in order to reveal the great Champagne terrorist’.

The ultimate Cuvée de Prestige, Champagne Louis Roederer’s Cristal was first created at the request of Tsar Alexander II of Russia in 1876, a renowned lover of exquisite craftsmanship, he approached Louis Roederer to make him an exclusive cuvee from their very finest grapes. The iconic bottle design with a flat base and made from clear crystal was designed at his behest to allay his fears of bombs and poison. The distinctive wrapper is there to protect the wine from ultraviolet light and should not be removed until consumption. Cristal is produced in the very finest vintages as a true expression of champagnes unique chalky soils. The blend is usually 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay from only the best rated Grand Cru sites of Champagne Louis Roederer’s vineyards. Cristal is released after a minimum six years ageing in the Reims cellars and is the benchmark for luxury champagnes with its intensity, purity and complexity as well as its fantastic ability to develop in the bottle. From the 2012 vintage Cristal has joined Cristal Rosé in its certification as biodynamically farmed.

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