Matthew Cohen

9.2

N: cranberry

P: cranberry, bright, delicious. Long juicy — 3 months ago

Tom Nguyen

9.2

I was surprised by the pale color. Perfectly dry, orange peel, stone fruit. Looking forward to maybe drinking more of this this summer. — 8 months 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! 🙏❤️ — 3 years ago

with Deked1

Austin Hohnke

8.9

Fruit from Merritt Island (first I’ve heard of this AVA). Medium bodied with apples, honeysuckle, and good acidic tension. Pair with walnuts and baked brie. — 4 months ago

carmen

9.3

lovely valdiguie grapes from redwood valley, the gamay of california. it’s mediumish body, hella juicy with cherry flavors and tannic — 8 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.1

2014 vintage. Super dry and powerful. Medium bodied but drinking like it’s (ballad of a) the thin man. Smoke/char in the nose. Upfront coffee/tobacco and raspberry flavors but little else. Not a good introductory Bordeaux for the masses. For those already smitten, I can see this going 40+ years but there will never be fat years. This is a (c)lean machine. Monolithic and totally old-school Bordeaux. — 3 years ago

Austin Hohnke

8.9

Dark fruit but only 12.1% abv. Lots of wild blueberry and mulberry character. Fine tannins and an enjoyable juiciness. My first Charbono and it ain’t a no-no. — 8 months ago

Dana Silver

8.9

Easy drinking, bright, light. — 2 years ago

Gates DePodesta

9.0

Nice effervescent rosé — 2 years ago

Steve Cunneen

9.2

Very nice. — 3 years ago