n.v. Eric Rodez, Brut Rosé, Grand Cru Champagne, Maceration 35, Ambonnay, France.
The former mayor of the famed Ambonnay village of Champagne, Eric Rodez, makes some special Champagne from his small holdings in the Ambonnay Grand Cru vineyard, including this gorgeous Brut Rosé Maceration 35, which was extremely compelling on a night full of serious rival bottles with a beautifully layered leesy palate of red apple, cherry, strawberry, ruby citrus and fig fruits, along with the yeasty brioche, hazelnut, wet stone and dry marzipan. Rich and full, there’s also a fine elegance and brightness, this is brilliant Rosé Champagne that screams terroir and pedigree from start to finish. A big thank you to my friend Lee Lightfoot, formerly of Big Sur’s legendary Nepenthe Restaurant, who kindly shared this excellent bottle of Eric Rodez with me, it very much impressed on the night. Eric Rodez, who now works with his son Mickaël, is not only a highly regarded Champagne producer in Ambonnay, the renowned grand cru village in the Montagne de Reims, he’s also known for his environmental work and his time as mayor here in Ambonnay! This bottling, as the name suggest saw maceration of Pinot Noir, which makes up close to 75% of the cuvée, along with 25% Chardonnay with close to 55% of reserve wine and a recent vintage baking up the base, along with a few other single years adding to the complexity here in this unique and very limited offering.
There isn’t many people more passionate about terroir and quality than Eric Rodez and it shows in his fantastic Champagne, and better for us is the fact that these wonderful Grand Cru bottlings are reasonably priced is a great gift to us Champagne lovers. Rodez, in some vintages, are in the same league as Krug and Vilmart, and this Brut Rosé Ambonnay Grand Cru Maceration 35 is utterly delicious and serious stuff. Eric practices mostly bidynamic principals in the vineyard and in some cases he goes further, even to the point of treating vines with essential oils, or as Charles Neal his importer puts it, he treats his vines with aromatherapy if needed! In the cellar, his two years working at Champagne Krug gave him his core beliefs, though he is influenced also by his time in both Alsace and Burgundy, he uses a combination of tank and wood, uses barrel aging and uses lots of very old reserve wines in the blended non vintage cuvees. Rodez has only 15 acres in the Grand Cru Ambonnay, mostly Chardonnay and a touch of Pinot Noir, which adds to the complexity and in this case the color. Most of the wines are aged 50 plus months Sur Lie, with 20% aged in cement/enamel lined tanks and 80% aged in small barrels, which gives the exotic flavors, texture and depth here. Most of his wine goes through malo, though you still find energy and finesse in these luxurious grower producer, hand crafted Champagnes, I adore these offerings from Eric Rodez, especially this one and his outstanding Blanc de Blancs. Over the years, I’ve had quite a few of these Eric Rodez Champagnes, but they never fail to excite me and I highly recommend them.
($79 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive