Obligatory disclaimer: This tasting of Roger Constant Lemaire Champagne was entirely free to me.
It’s not every day you get to try some of the world’s best bubbly, and I’m a little in denial that this experience ever happened. But through Luscious Lushes’s wine connections and Brix Chick Liza’s hospitality, I was invited to try Roger Constant Lemaire’s Champagne a few months back, right before my tonsils were removed. Good timing!
An Easter bubbly treat!
Roger Constant Lemaire’s great-grandfather was the first in the family to grow grapes, and by 1860, his grandfather Désiré Lemaire had bought their first vineyard in Champagne’s birthplace. Roger’s father was the first in the family to make wine himself, and Roger took their winemaking to the next level by 1945, having mastered grape blending. His daughter, Brigitte, her husband, and their children, Sébastien and Guillaume, run the estate now. This is a family legacy to be proud of. I can confirm that with every glass.
Roger Constant Lemaire Cuvée Select Reserve Blanc de Noirs: I love the pastry nose of this Champagne made with 100% pinot meunier grapes. It’s like an eclair topped with vanilla glaze. Berry flies under the radar, with glazed Danish cookies coming out most in the glass. I want one of those eclairs to pair with it or even better, smoked salmon. 5/5
Roger Constant Lemaire Cuvée Trianon: It smells of kneading wet bread dough, perhaps for cinnamon rolls destined for globs of frosting. In the glass, granny smith apples are baked up with herbs de provence and big, full bubbles. 60% pinot noir, 40% chardonnay. 4/5
Finally, the showstopper. Roger Constant Lemaire Cuvée Les Hautes Prieres Millésime 2009: If you ever have a chance to taste this 100% chardonnay Champagne, TAKE it. At $205 retail, a chance may be all you can get. It’s wonderfully made, and I don't think that's just the price tag speaking. A nose of smoked salmon baked en croute or encrusted with potato flakes comes before an eddying whirl of tasting notes that hits all of Champagne's greatest hits: baked apples, chipped strawberry ice, kiwi, potato rolls, flaky brioche with glaze, palmier cookies, cream, and a hint of cinnamon. Medium bubbles and a merry-go-round you won't want to stop. 5/5
Tasted 14 April 2017.
