Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/221505
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROEDERER The Roederer family estate provides two-thirds of the grapes for its wine production. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROEDERER PHOTO COURTESY OF ROEDERER He bears little resemblance to the counter-culture comic book hero, but you could call Frédéric Rouzaud, President & CEO at the Champagne Louis Roederer Group, a sort of "Mr. Natural" in the champagne industry. Under his watch, 60 hectares of the domaine that produces Cristal, are biodynamic. He himself says he likes to get out into the field with a pair of pruning shears, and under the tutelage of an Italian viticulturist, has learned how pruning re-engineers the flow of sap and invigorates the vines. But it's not just the vines and wines that are naturally inclined: consider that Rouzaud, 46, the seventh generation to run the house of Roederer, views his business organically, keeping a focus on the wines' expression and expanding the company's property portfolio with like-minded family estates. That's almost antithetical for a house that makes one of the most expensive champagnes on the planet, Cristal, with a following that has included tsars and rock stars and is one of the millennium's most visible symbols of extravagance. That buzz doesn't faze Rouzaud, who says the house remains dedicated to its humble roots, which date to 1776. He succeeds his father and grandmother, and is only the third president since 1933. "Being family-owned gives us more creativity to position the quality of our wines as our first priority," Rouzaud told THE TASTING PANEL on a recent visit to New York City. The 600-acre Roederer family estate provides two-thirds of the grapes for its wine production. "It really makes a difference in the wine business and the wine creation to all the team—from the guy in the vineyard to the guy in the cellars to the winemaker to me," he says, adding that the difference is "having a family owner who has the long term vision of what they want for the company—not in five years, but in 20 or 30." Biodynamics as a Tool At this moment, that vision is "expressing the purity, magic and the authenticity of our Grand Cru," says Rouzaud. Which is why they're exploring biodynamic farming—in part to gauge how the wines might evolve in the future. Rouzaud's team is monitoring the performance of conventional versus biodynamic vines. "We do not belong to a 'church'; we don't do it to put 'biodynamic' on the label," Rouzaud says. "But it's a tool to learn." He reports that, so far, the biodynamic grapes have one more degree of sugar, and are showing higher acidity than the neighboring conventional plot. He is pleased with the experimentation to date. "We know they express something more exuberant. The Roederer Brut Premier. december 2013 / the tasting panel / 93 TP1213_064-103.indd 93 11/23/13 8:35 PM