Roederer Estate Anderson Valley L’Ermitage Brut

Old and older, the 2005 L'Ermitage is a cuvee of 52% Chardonnay and 48% Pinot Noir plus 4% reserve wine from the 2003 vintage. Yet this is the current release of Roederer Estate's special Tête de Cuvée, which is made only in exceptional vintages from estate-grown grapes in the remote Anderson Valley of California. In the tradition of its parent Champagne producer Louis Roederer in France, Roederer Estate makes sparkling wine in the methode traditionelle and adds oak-aged reserve wines to each blend. It certainly benefited from the extra years of elevage, mellowing on the lees and softening this 2.98 pH wine. A revelation in what California's sparkling wine can be.