Louis Roederer traces back to 1776 in Reims and took its present name in 1833, when Louis Roederer inherited the house from his uncle. Seven generations later it remains family-owned and independent — a rarity among the grandes marques.

Its real advantage is land. Roederer farms around 240 hectares of its own vineyards, covering the large majority of its needs, where most houses buy in the bulk of their fruit. Much of that estate has been converted to biodynamic farming, at a scale no one else in Champagne has attempted.

In 2021 Roederer retired Brut Premier, its non-vintage of forty years, and replaced it with Collection — a deliberate change of philosophy. Rather than reproducing the same taste every year, each Collection is numbered for the blend it represents. 244 is the 244th since the house began.

It is built on a base harvest, a set of oak-aged reserve wines, and a perpetual reserve begun in 2012 — a solera-like blend of every year since, which gives depth no single vintage could.

White peach and citrus over brioche and a distinct chalky note; precise and taut on the palate, carried by a fine bead, closing dry and saline. Roederer’s answer to the question of what a house style should mean.