Opens with notes of white fruit, citrus zest and acacia blossom, which are followed by a light touch of roasted hazelnuts, the hallmark of the Chardonnay. The long, very pure structure ends on a pleasing saline note. Collection 244's freshness, precision and finesse make it an exceptionally approachable champagne, yet one that also evolves beautifully over time to reveal even more complex and precise flavours.

This 244th blend from the Louis Roederer Champagne House is based on the finest successes of the 2019 harvest, a year of record-breaking temperatures brought by particularly intense heat waves. Dry and continental and of magnificent maturity, this year gave us wines that were dense and fresh, with a masterful balance, conducive to bringing out the powerful and luscious Collection character in the blend.
All the wines from this harvest were rigorously tasted, plot by plot, before being blended in a complex symphony recreating the perfect picture of the vintage.

Made up of 54% of the 2019 harvest, Collection 244 is an ode to taste and drinking pleasure. Each year, the Cellar Master composes a new symphony, inspired by the tonalities of the year and then adds the wines from the Perpetual Reserve and the oak-aged reserve wines.
The Perpetual Reserve makes up a significant proportion of the Collection blend and provides its balance and freshness. In Collection 244, it represents 36% of the blend. In parallel to this Perpetual Reserve, 10% of wines from previous years and young plots on the Cristal estate, aged in French oak foudres, are added to the blend.

"The first impression is as invigorating as a sea breeze. I love the interplay of mirabelle, grapefruit and lychee fruit with minty freshness and waxiness from lees contact. And all this is welded to a beautifully proportioned palate with plenty of structure, the acidity bright and the mousse animating. Very salty finish that pulls you back for more. A cuvee of 41% chardonnay, 33% pinot noir and 26% pinot meunier. Of these, 15% fermented in oak and 85% in stainless steel. The final blend contained 36% reserve perpetual and 10% reserve wines of the 2012 - 2018 vintage from oak. The dosage is 7 g/l. Drink or hold."
94 points.
Stuart Piggott, jamessuckling.com (July 2023)