Read our profile on Champagne Roses de Jeanne, where each wine is from a single grape variety, vineyard and vintage.
[Image credit: Thomas Iversen Photography]
Region: Côtes des Bar, Champagne
Village: Landreville
Grape varieties: Pinot Noir
Vineyard area: 1.5 hectares
Cédric Bouchard has only been making wine since 2000, yet his Champagnes are already among the most sought-after in the region. At his tiny Roses de Jeanne estate, named for his grandmother Janika, he produces polished, richly expressive Champagnes that are more Burgundian than classically Champenois in sensibility. Each wine is from a single grape variety, single vineyard and single vintage, involving no blending of any kind.
Like other contemporary, avant-garde Champagne growers, Bouchard focuses on natural viticulture and minimalist winemaking, but he’s atypically extreme in his pursuit of low yields, averaging just 4,000kg/ha, which is less than a third of the norm. This creates concentrated, densely flavoured Champagnes that can feel almost like red wines on the palate, and this is accentuated by their unusually creamy mousse, resulting from a lowered pressure (4.5 bars rather than the usual 6). However, the wines also demonstrate an elegant harmony and finesse, and in character they’re highly individual, even unique in the region.
Wine to try: Roses de Jeanne, Côte de Val Vilaine, Brut Blanc de Noirs, Côte des Bar 2012
From a south-facing parcel of Pinot Noir, planted in 1974, this is rich and ripe, with a vibrant, mouthfilling depth of fruit. Read more here.
Address: 13 Rue du Vivier, 10110 Celles-sur-Ource, France
Written by Peter Liem
