GaryWEdwards

9.6

I would probably only have this beautiful wine only 10 years later but the 375ml brings things forward, showing why this winter if 2016 vintage is so highly regarded. I think the juice is ready now but will be a long runner for decades — 6 days ago

Doug Powers

8.9

Honeyed, white stonefruits, floral, solid acidity, good balance, lively and still pretty crisp, lingering finish, but not one to hold, ready to drink. — 4 months ago

with Jim

Ray Vanderhoff

9.0

Another solid vintage of this Côtes du Rhône staple. Blend of Grenache (60%) and Syrah (40%). Dark garnet color with ruby highlights. Aromas of ripe black fruit, violets, dried rose petals and roasted meat. Flavors of ripe red and black cherry/raspberry/plum fruit, savory dried herbs and spices and a bit of black licorice. Hint of earth and bramble on the long dry finish. No real noticeable oak aging. Fruit forward and fresh. Velvety tannins and medium-plus body. Exceptional quality and consistency for the price. Thanks for sharing, Chris B! — 6 months ago

JKT

9.0

Different vineyard but still 100% Jacquere, and this one is nicely on the cusp but not yet going down. Bro hints of the putative initial mountain freshness and minerals, together with a lithe expression of age. — 8 months ago

Crystal Haugen

9.4

Really good dark fruit — 4 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.2

N; like violet pastilles. Swampy funk, blows off, stones, interesting blue/black
with a touch of garrigue.
P:Lithe, somewhat saline upon entry,
trips over the tongue, such nice mouthfeel. Blackberries, slightly prickly tannins, this wine could go 10 more years. The panoply of flavors hints at tomato leaf, black fruits, with that ever present chewy tannin structure lurking.
Mind you, we PnP this one.
I could drink this …a…long ….time — 4 years ago

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! 🙏❤️ — 5 years ago

with Deked1

Irina Georgieva

9.0

Great wine and great potential. It was very good in 2022 and I can only imagine in 3 years it will be amazing. — 12 days ago

Alex Gordon

9.3

Delicious — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The “Grand Cellier” pours a pale straw color with a persistent mousse. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of bright, tart fruit: green apple, star fruit, Meyer lemon, a whiff of brioche, and chalky, limestone minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. I freaking love Vilmart. Drink now through 2038. Disgorged December of 2018. — 5 months ago

Mark Eastom

8.9

Really nice rose. Strawberry, bazooka Joe bubble gum, lime, light to medium bodied, with great acid. I’m a fan. — 8 months ago

Veronique Gendron

10

Excellent vin partagé avec Ian chez nous (bouteille qu'il avait gagné) — 4 years ago

Conrad Green

9.2

Light oyster shells, lime, limestone, salinity. Light and pretty and long — 4 years ago

with Gregg

Tim Mack

9.6

Delicious, fantastic wine. Gift from Jay and Cat for xmas 2021
— 5 years ago

Chris MacLean

9.5

Very special — a month ago

with Sarah

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.0

1966 vintage. Mid-shoulder fill. Lip under the foil an anthrax fever dream. Cleaned than up with an ice cube and a napkin. Used a Durand but this cork merely chuckled at it. Worst cork I’ve ever (tried to) extracted with a Durand. Bring out the funnel with screen to sift/filter out all the semi-ancient cork sed. Wasn’t going to decant as per usual guest wishes so went with the smallest decanter. Tasted 15 minutes, 45 minutes and 1.5 hours after opening. Light, well aged-Burgundy body. Substantial, (STILL!!!) feminine-styled offerings fruit/spicewise. Ummm…reason why Pichon-Lalande-and La Mission Haut-Brion-are my two fave BDX big guns. This was still showing better than you woulda thunk. 8.14.26 — 3 months ago

Doug Powers

9.3

This 2017 Lirac is 99% Clairette (and 1% Grenache Blanc) from an old head-pruned vineyard with 125-year-old vines which always produces such an unique white wine, some of the previous vintages have seemed to develop rather quickly, but this well-balanced beauty is still going strong at age 9, long, lingering finish, Rudi nailed this vintage, lovely!! — 8 months ago

with Jim

Lawrence Bernstein

9.3

2/26 - amazing qualities all around. A fruit driven wine with lots or red plum and darker blackberry notes. Nice cedar and tobacco notes. Firm tanins. Outstanding mouthfeel. Soft finish. 93 — 9 months ago

Nancy Burroughs

9.0

Opened to make beef stew and enjoy with it on 10/29/2022. — 4 years ago

Charles York

9.1

Tart apple, white flower. Clean, crisp limestone like finish.

Interesting wine. Definitely not Meursault-like, blind I would have went chassagne. I might be a bit low on the rating, often I need a couple of tries on wines like this that taste different than expectation of location. At Hestia — 5 years ago