So, what do people think of Cedric Bouchard?

Cdric himself is extremely smart, engaging and attachant. Generous and passionate about what he does.

His approach to champagne can be somewhat challenging. He's someone who likes still wine more, and he'll most likely be heading in that direction in the future. It wouldn't surprise me if one day there were only still Roses de Jeanne.

His style is one that will either be liked or disliked; it's a style that can be divisive, and of course flies in the face of traditional champagne ways and means in several ways.

Each bottling is a single parcel, a single grape and a single vintage.
Yields are from 26 hl/ha to (his "entry level" bottling Inflorescence) 50 hl/ha.
No dosage or vins de garde in anything.
Stainless steel or enameled concrete exclusively.
No malo (obviously).
Lower pressure (4.5 atmospheres).

So, what do we have? Something with fewer bubbles (and he'd even advise carafing), a richness from the intensely low yields that feels almost like dosage for the sucrosit it imparts, but which he distinguishes from the sugary effect of dosage in that it is round and coats the mouth, rather than a burst of sugar that goes straight down the gullet.

Wines can vary wildly from year to year and express their vintage as well as their plot and grape.

The Infloresence bottling, which is from 40-year-old vines that were his father's, is -- according to him -- becoming more and more Cdric-Bouchard and less and less like the treated vines his father tended to (in the style of maximizing yields, etc.). The 07 Inflorescence is indeed the closest to Roses de Jeanne of any yet.

But Levi, I don't really know what you're asking.

If you're asking if the wines are well-made, they are. They're not spoofed or tricked-out or what have you.

If you're asking if they're to everyone's taste, they're not.
 
The wines are a bit too extreme for me. Once in a while they're very good, but I'm not sure I get the point.

Good with food, though.
 
I had my first Bouchard, the 'Val Vilaine' BdN (2006 i think?) with Thanksgiving this year and it was big, open and lip-smackin' good. Perfect with the meal - turned out to be a better partner than the 06 Foillard Cote de Py we had alongside it. I have to agree it's definitely a more vinous style but very pure and fresh.

I have no experience, but have heard some folks portent that these wines may not be long agers. Any thoughts?
 
as someone who is not really a great lover of champagne, i really like the wines. i find them pure and focused and fun. not in the giddy, party way that champagne seems to want to be viewed, but in a 'i'm having roast chicken with friends and i want to talk' sort of way.
 
I've only had one bottle of the regular Inflorescence which I liked very much. If they were a little less expensive I'd enjoy exploring more but I can say that about a lot of Champagne. A bottle of Parcelle is on dock at the moment so I look forward to doubling my Bouchard experience.
 
I love the acidity and texture on the Inflorescence Val Vilaine (have had 3 bottles of the 2006 now). I think these are really singular wines. My guess is that they would age well given what appears to be fairly high acidity. Or am I just perceiving no dosage as high acidity?
 
Met him at a wine dinner showcasing his wines, along with Copain's, during IPNC. I thought he and his wines were lovely. Uncertain what the controversy would be over. They're honost, expressive wines.
 
I just tried the Inflorescence last week for the first time and quite liked it. I didn't find it to be as epic as i was prepared for but thought that it was just lovely. I am not a huge champagne lover but i did find myself attracted to this bottle. It had great acidity and more layers of complexity than other champagnes I've had of late. Reminded me a bit of Francois Bedels Entre Ciel et Terre a bit, which i also like.
 
originally posted by Yixin:
The wines are a bit too extreme for me. Once in a while they're very good, but I'm not sure I get the point.

Good with food, though.
Click to expand...

My experience is limited but with what I have, I'm with Yixin. However, it won't be the first time I just don't get wine. I guess I'm more conventional than your average Disorderly. I blame too much education, it beat the free spirit out of me.
 
The wines are fine, nothing to rave about really. I've had the luck to taste most of them and i know it's not something i would spend money on.
I don't really like the "freshness" of the wines. I think the fact that he's trying to make a very terroir driven wine is interesting, but using only stainless steel makes no sense to me. It's kind of like treating a grand cru like a vin de pays. After all that work of low yields, organic agriculture (right?), why would you then treat your chard and pinot like a fucking bourboulenc?
Also, there is something to be said about selling Bouchard as the new Selosse.
Anselme's work is all about aging and oxidation, Cedric's all about freshness, both theories are as different as it get really.
It's good to make a terroir driven wine, but it requires a good terroir, and i'm not convinced he has any.
 
originally posted by guilhaume:
The wines are fine, nothing to rave about really. I've had the luck to taste most of them and i know it's not something i would spend money on.
I don't really like the "freshness" of the wines. I think the fact that he's trying to make a very terroir driven wine is interesting, but using only stainless steel makes no sense to me. It's kind of like treating a grand cru like a vin de pays. After all that work of low yields, organic agriculture (right?), why would you then treat your chard and pinot like a fucking bourboulenc?
Also, there is something to be said about selling Bouchard as the new Selosse.
Anselme's work is all about aging and oxidation, Cedric's all about freshness, both theories are as different as it get really.
It's good to make a terroir driven wine, but it requires a good terroir, and i'm not convinced he has any.
Click to expand...

Interesting points. Thank you.

It is helpful to have the Bowman Report, for which I have been patiently waiting, and also the Digger Perspective. These have enriched my understanding of the wines.

I would note that each and every time I have drunk the wines, I have decanted them and served them in a white wine glass. I have approached Prevost the same way.
 
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Yixin:
The wines are a bit too extreme for me. Once in a while they're very good, but I'm not sure I get the point.

Good with food, though.
Click to expand...

My experience is limited but with what I have, I'm with Yixin. However, it won't be the first time I just don't get wine. I guess I'm more conventional than your average Disorderly. I blame too much education, it beat the free spirit out of me.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. I myself still prefer The Bends to OK Computer.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Yixin:
The wines are a bit too extreme for me. Once in a while they're very good, but I'm not sure I get the point.

Good with food, though.
Click to expand...

My experience is limited but with what I have, I'm with Yixin. However, it won't be the first time I just don't get wine. I guess I'm more conventional than your average Disorderly. I blame too much education, it beat the free spirit out of me.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. I myself still prefer The Bends to OK Computer.
Click to expand...

My repeated listening to Radiohead began and ends with The Bends. I like most of OK Computer but don't crave it very often and don't find anything afterward very compelling.
 
I find this consensus to be true as well, even though I think conceptually, from beginning to end, OK Computer is stronger. However, one of my favorite album sequences I like to listen to while commuting to work is listening to Planet Telex all the way through to Fake Plastic Trees (with High and Dry being the climax). I also love Street Spirit.

But, if I could listen to just one Radiohead song, it would be Karma Police. It has this real orchestral feel...in a Life on Mars? kind of way.

Post OK Computer stuff can be very good. I personally think Reckoner on their new album equals a lot of their stuff on the Bends and OK Computer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top