Team C&J
This Winery Is Permanently Closed.
Winery Rating
Located at:
4501 CA-128, Philo, CA 95466
Wine Club Rating
Price Range For Tasting
French Champagne houses exporting their brands to Northern California isn’t new. Moet & Chandon became the first French-owned sparkling wine producer in Napa Valley when they created Chandon in Yountville in 1973, and Taittinger started Domaine Carneros in Napa Valley several years later.
But, unlike their peers in Champagne, when Jean-Claude Rouzaud, the then president of Louis Roederer, began scouting locations in Northern California’s wine country, he went north, way north compared to the other domaines. At the time, the move to Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley was a little perplexing, given their competitor’s decisions to set up shop in Sonoma County and Napa Valley. But, it didn’t take long for the rest of the wine world to catch up to the Roederer Estate strategy, and now the area is widely believed to produce the best sparkling wines in California.
Would you expect anything less from the Champagne house that gave the world Cristal?
All of you pinot noir lovers are probably pretty familiar with Anderson Valley wines. This North Coast wine-growing region is cool, foggy, and about as perfect as you can get for growing pinot noir and champagne. The grapes used in the Roederer Estate champagne absolutely thrive here. The valley sees an incredible diurnal shift, with 50-degree temperature swings in the summer months, thanks to the vineyards’ proximity to Pacific ocean air.
At nearly 620 acres, the Roederer Estate in Anderson Valley is pretty substantial compared to the other family-owned vineyards and wineries in the area, but that hasn’t stopped this winery from utilizing biodynamic practices in the field, providing local housing for their vineyard team, and achieving a Fish Friendly Certification on the entire Estate.
The Roederer Estate property and Roederer Estate tasting room are truly a little slice of heaven. The views across Anderson Valley are incredible. Rolling hills thick with trees. Clear blue skies. Vineyard views for days. When the team at the Roederer Estate winery says they want you to experience nature when you visit, they’re not joking.
Quality wine, great “noshy” food during your tasting, and an unforgettable view, you’re going to love the Roederer Estate wine tasting experience as much as we did.
The property offers two tastings, A ‘Classic Sparkling Flight’ for $20 and a $40 Anniversary Flight.
The Classic Sparkling Flight includes the greatest hits:
The Anniversary Flight includes the deep cuts:
Roederer Estate sparkling wine can also be purchased by the glass if someone in your group doesn’t feel like partaking in an entire flight.
One of the more unique features of this tasting experience is the opportunity to taste the same wine, the Roederer Estate Brut, fermented in two different sized bottles, the standard 750mL bottle, and the magnum.
Both sparkling wines are 60% chardonnay and 40% pinot noir, harvested from the same vineyard at the same time, but the taste is ever so slightly different, owing to the difference in bottle size. The standard-sized Roederer Estate Brut has a little citrus on the palate, while the magnum is smoother and a little buttery.
When you visit the estate, this one is definitely worth trying.
If you’re looking for a wine tasting with great food to match the great sparkling wine you’re enjoying, this is your spot. The winery’s ‘Nosh’ menu is excellent and complementary to the Roederer portfolio of wines.
The menu includes all of the small bites you could want at a California wine tasting: a cheese board with local cheeses, cold smoked salmon and toast points, caviar, and no sparkling wine tasting is complete without at least one high-low food pairing. At Roederer, it’s ‘Meat & Potatoes’, AKA imported potato chips and Italian prosciutto! Delicious!
A few other odds and ends about our tasting experience at Roederer Estate, Anderson Valley. If you’re a fan of California sparkling wine and high-quality champagnes, the Roederer Estate Wine Club is worth a look. The club offers access to exclusive releases and library wines, event invitations, a 20% discount on current releases, and more. It even allows you to purchase a Jeroboam-sized Roederer Estate Brut each October, you know, if you want to make a statement at your holiday gathering!
More than a few Roederer Estate reviews mention that a visit to the Anderson Valley property also means you can purchase bottles of Cristal at your tasting. While that’s true, the bottles of Cristal are slightly more expensive here than they would be at your typical bottle shop. Most wine lovers aren’t coming to Mendocino for the Cristal, so we’ll leave that to other wine blogs to dig into that topic.
If you visit, just relax and enjoy these amazing California sparkling wines and the unforgettable view of the valley.
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