Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/221505
PHOTO: JESSE WINTER crystal-clear bottle is as legendary as its noble history—part of its mystique even today. Cristal commands $249 (SRP) per bottle. A more affordable luxury: Roederer's signature wine, Brut Premier (SPR $52) which has served as the house sparkling wine at Manhattan's Four Seasons for more than 20 years. Roederer Cristal has a following that has included tsars and rock stars. PHOTO: JESSE WINTER aromatic dimension of the expression is more interesting." Rouzaud's vision also includes careful acquisition of properties outside of France that can add to the Roederer portfolio in a natural progression—historic estates with the same family values. The company has picked top plots including Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande and Château Haut-Beauséjour in Bordeaux; Ramos Pinto in Portugal's Douro region (a UNESCO-designated site); and Delas Frères in the Rhône Valley. Stateside, Roederer expanded its California sparkling wine production, based at Roederer Estate in Mendocino's Anderson Valley, with the acquisition of highly regarded Scharffenberger Cellars. "What interests us is not to make Cabernet or Merlot everywhere in the world, it is to produce the identity and unique style of each property, and to do that with family when it's possible," Rouzaud said. "Every time you do that, it carries the value of the family and preserves the historical identity of these wines." The executive knows a little something about that. Cristal, the signature wine for Roederer, was created in 1876 for the Russian tsar, Alexander II, who insisted on the clear bottle design (the better to see assassination devices). The when it was commercialized. Rouzaud, who has a Master's degree in business administration and began his career in real estate, says market expansions will be only those that make sense for the company. "We are opening them slowly, not putting all our eggs in the same country," he says. "We choose countries that are compatible with our image and our volume." Roederer produces a little more than An Expanding Market 3 million bottles annually—only half But even a Veblen good like Cristal a million more than its 1850 producwon't cloud Rouzaud's vision, espetion. The limited production ability in cially when it comes to tapping hot Champagne, where land is expensive markets like China, with its feverish obsession for luxury goods. It's not that and scarce, plays into the expansion the CEO doesn't recognize the potential, strategy into other markets. Rouzaud shrugs and smiles: "Burgundy is too noting that five years ago, China expensive, so we are in California." consumed 20,000 cases and today that His next mission: increasing people's number hovers around 100,000. But, understanding of champagne as a he says, the company will continue food-friendly wine, a goal he believes to eschew aggressive marketing and he can accomplish, given the bubbly's let people come to the wine naturally evolution at the table. because of its quality—not because "Forty years ago, champagne was they "produce a new gift wine bucket drunk only with dessert. Champagne every three months." as an apéritif only came along 30 years "My house is open to visits from ago," he noted. "People don't know that the trade all year long. Our main champagne can age very well—up to marketing is to train people about the 30 or 40 years—and can be paired very real savoir faire: What is the style of well with food, with cheese. Now we Roederer, what is the style of biodyhave it every day if we want, and the namic wine?" Frédéric Rouzaud uses a white wine glass, not a flute, to serve Roederer champagnes. Perhaps the lessons learned from an over-reliance on the Russian market are still fresh with the company. After the 1917 revolution, the demand for Cristal fizzled until its reinvention in the 1940s, non-vintage is perfect for that." He shrugs. "Everybody does what he wants with the product he buys. The more people who like this champagne, the more we are happy." 94 / the tasting panel / december 2013 TP1213_064-103.indd 94 11/23/13 8:35 PM