“Everything that has the nature to arise will pass away.”
Champagne is often described as a place. It is also a moment in time.
Most of that time is invisible. Non-vintage Champagne is designed to smooth it away, consistency over memory.
Vintage Champagne does the opposite. It keeps the year intact.
Sometimes, that year is worth paying attention to early.
A Thought on What a Vintage Is
2017 was a difficult year to keep.
Twelve nights of frost swept through Champagne in late April, after the vines had already begun to bud. What followed was no easier. A dull, wet summer ended in sudden heat and humidity, bringing grey rot to the ripening Pinot Noir. Some growers lost most of their crop. What remained required everything.
At Roederer, the harvest was completed in nine days. The selection work was unprecedented, even for them.
That is what a vintage is. Not a number. Not a guarantee of quality.
A record of pressure and response.
2017 is not a great vintage. It is a revealing one.
On Timing
There is a case for buying vintage Champagne early, before critics publish, before allocations tighten, before prices adjust.
This window still exists, but it is narrowing.
A wine still finding itself often costs far less than it will once understood.
“There is a subtle pleasure in the extravagance that contests with prudence… in the long deferred and final joy of our possession.” — William Dawson
Bottle of the Week
Louis Roederer Brut Rosé 2017
Structure
Blend: 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay
Dosage: 8 g/L
Vinification: 29% in oak, 24% malolactic fermentation
Origin: "La Rivière" Estate, Cumières and Chouilly
Harvest: August 31 to September 9, 2017
The nose arrives with intention. Orange zest, deep citrus, dusty pastry, a hint of spice. On day two it opened further.
Rich and structured. A gentle bitterness gives it grip and keeps it firmly in serious rosé territory.
Still a little tight. Which is the point.
This is a buy for patience.
What to Notice
The first pour is held back. Return to it. The wine is not withholding. It is waiting.
Where to Find It
K&L Wine Merchants, Costco. Often closer to $100 at retail. I found it just under $85 at Costco.
Widely available. Most larger retailers should carry it.
Worth finding before the market fully catches up.
A Short Detour
The grapes that became this wine grew in a specific spring.
Survived twelve nights of frost.
Were harvested in nine days at the end of a precarious summer that will not come again.
The people who made it were eight years younger. So were you.
To drink a vintage with attention is not to be morbid about time. It is to see it clearly.
The vintage does not resist impermanence.
It holds it.
What I’m Curious About Next
If buying early is an act of patience, opening is an act of decision.
Next time, when to drink, and whether that question is really about the wine at all.
A Small Dose
Buy before the world agrees it is good.
Open it when you are ready.
Notice what a single year tastes like when it was handled with care.
“Our life is a faint tracing on the surface of mystery...” — Annie Dillard
Until the next bottle,
Manj
If you enjoy this, I also share short Champagne notes on Instagram:
@le_dosage