1929 Louis Roederer Brut

Roederer’s 1929 Brut
is impossibly beautiful. Wearing the graceful patina of age, the 1929 is more
of a wine than a Champagne. Hints of apricot jam, spice and orange-infused oil
grace the palate in a silky, wonderfully pliant Champagne endowed with
remarkable brilliance, purity and freshness, especially for its age.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1462817314575-1929+Roederer.jpg"> 

According to Roederer’s Chef de Cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon,
the 1929 is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay. At the time, the Brut was made
entirely from estate-owned vineyards, mostly in Verzy and Verzenay. This bottle
was disgorged in 1970 with just seven grams of dosage, which is low for both
the era and current releases, but probably a downward adjustment taken to
reflect the long period the wine had spent on its lees. Lécaillon adds that the
1929 got a hit of Cognac just before its initial bottling, a step that was
common at the time to boost the alcohol in finished Champagnes.

And what about 1929? Herbert Hoover was the US President
when the US stock market crashed, setting off the Great Depression. The Dow
Jones would not recover to its pre-Depression level until 1954, 25 years after
the crash. In Europe, totalitarian regimes were on the ascent in&nbsp;Italy, Germany and Russia. In France, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aristide Briand became
the Prime Minister for the fifth time (he would ultimately serve seven times)
and presented his blueprint for a unified Europe. In Champagne, 1929 is
remembered as a very high quality vintage in terms of both quality and
production, with an even flowering and no real weather issues until rot
appeared at the very end of the harvest. Roederer’s 1929 Brut has proven to be
timeless. Even today, it is striking. 94/Drink
now.

-- Antonio Galloni.

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