Vanessa

9.4

**If interested, I’ve posted more pics of this visit and trip on my Instagram account - check me out @sips_ensemble**

We also had the pleasure to visit Champagne Paul Bara, another family-owned and -managed winery with only 8 employees! 💪 💪

It is a small but high-quality operation, producing approximately 100,000 bottles per year made exclusively from the free run juice. ✨✨✨ Thanks to the likes of @kermitlynchwine , the U.S. is a major exporting market for this wine. 🙌🙌

Paul Bara’s wines are sustainably farmed on numerous vineyard plots located throughout Bouzy, a Grand Cru village within the Montagne de Reims region of Champagne. 🏔 🏔

Bouzy is known especially for its Pinot Noir-driven Champagnes and also for its still red wines, a specialty of the region, called Coteaux Champenois. 🍇🍇

Paul Bara uses mostly stainless steel vessels for its vinification, designed to accentuate the purity of the fruit. They also use subterranean concrete vessels for the Pinot Noir used in rosé blends and for the Coteaux Champenois (still reds). 🥂

On our tour it was fascinating to see bottles being disgorged, dosaged, corked, capped, and caged on a machine in seconds — these are some of the last stages of the Méthode Champenoise. 🤓

We also learned that Paul Bara is a member of the ‘Club Trésors de Champagne’ an association of 28 vignerons formed to promote quality wine growing and winemaking practices and to highlight the beauty of terroir, demonstrating the excellence achievable outside of the major houses whose names are globally renown such as Veuve Cliquot and Moët & Chandon. 👏

Our favorite wine of the tasting was the 2010 Brut Comtesse Marie de France 🇫🇷 made exclusively from Pinot Noir grapes 🍇 It had a richness and abundance of orchard fruit, including baked yellow apple, also toast, bread dough, yeast, and dried white blossom notes, still offering finesse and precision, retaining incredible vibrancy.

We are grateful for our visit to Paul Bara and we look forward to visiting again the future! 🙏❤️ — 3 years ago

with Deked1

Chris MacLean

9.4

Tight and focused and all about caged energy. — 9 years ago

with Tim

Ely Cohn

8.9

A weighty Gamay of perfumed green stems, bright red fruit and hot tamale spice. It has a back door of green bell pepper and on day three, I was happy to welcome a little bit of soft caged mouse. — 5 years ago

Matthew Christ

9.2

I read on twitter from some rando that this was in the zone. I would concur. Like a caged animal released upon opening, but after an hour (and with steak tacos 🌮) crazy minerality and grip. Massive finish. Yum yum 👅 — 8 years ago

with Lyle

Doug Cranmer

9.1

Drawn Butterscotch, dried currants middle, dried tobacco on finish. Big tannins, needed time to open up from the caged beast that it was upon uncorking. Happy Holidays! — 7 years ago

with Mary

Mike Daniel

9.4

Delicious glycerol wine... earthy up front. Fog and berry on the palette, with a completely caged and delightful but subtly sweet candied dark cherry glycerol finish. The 2014 seems better than the average rating (9.2) and better than the average price of $25. I will be watching for a bottle - enough structure to lay down for a few more years. — 7 years ago

Chris MacLean

9.2

This is the most tannic Beaujolais I've ever tasted, and it's very good. The juiciness is caged but primed for expression. Opening up and telling a different story about every five minutes. (Not quite as good on day 2) — 8 years ago

with Alessandro, Cason and 1 other