A few days ago, Champagne house Louis Roederer launched the first non-dosed champagne in its history.
The 2006 Brut Nature cuvée is the result of a close collaboration between the Champagne house and designer Philippe Starck.
While the idea of creating the first non-dosed champagne, i.e. without the addition of the “liqueur de dosage” – a characteristic step in the traditional champagne winemaking process – had been gaining ground at Maison Roederer for several years, it was the meeting with Philippe Starck, an enlightened connoisseur of these raw champagnes, as close to nature as possible, that provided the impetus.
For several months, Philippe Starck, Frédéric Rouzaud, General Manager of Louis Roederer and Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Chef des Caves, worked together to imagine this totally singular and unique champagne.
Together, they drew their inspiration from “river wines” to create a very terroir-driven, dry champagne with no frills whatsoever. In 2006, the Pinots Noirs from the Cumières terroir, with their generous, fruity character, are exceptionally ripe, deep and textured. These grapes, from vines owned by Louis Roederer, form the heart of the 2006 Brut Nature cuvée. Initialed by a few Chardonnays, they reveal an ample, elegant wine of great purity, whose unctuous, velvety structure combines with the freshness and fruit energy characteristic of Louis Roederer champagnes.
Philippe Starck has also created a totally original packaging for this unique cuvée: a raw, unpainted capsule, and a pewter cap with no inscriptions, whose shade of gray evokes the elegance and authenticity of the cuvée. As for the label, it uses a Japanese-inspired paper that is water-resistant, and can be printed and embossed so that the most important words appear in color and the others are simply engraved, like an evocation. Together, they compose a phrase that tells the story:
“This is a Brut Nature Millésimé champagne crafted in 2006 by Louis Roederer and Philippe Starck in Reims, France.”
“Cuvée Brut Nature 2006 is the result of an encounter: that of a historic terroir with a remarkable year, that of a House in tune with nature and a great creator, a free man. Philippe Starck expressed an emotional vision of design that was very enriching for us, because it gave us a freedom in creation that we didn’t have. By letting us interpret his words, Philippe allowed us to cross boundaries and explore new territories. The creation of Brut Nature 2006 will go down in the history of the House as a great human and professional adventure,” declared Frédéric Rouzaud, CEO of Louis Roederer, at the launch of Brut Nature 2006.
As for Philippe Starck, he recalled the creative process that led to the birth of Brut Nature 2006: “We started by talking. For many long hours, I described my dream champagne, unfined of course; I made Chinese portraits, I told this story from multiple angles, with very precise words that created powerful images. And it was these conceptual words, this abstraction, that Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon and his teams, through our tastings, then worked into wine.”
A wine that we were able to taste and which surprises with its straightforwardness and finesse, a great success.
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