So, what do people think of Cedric Bouchard?

originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
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.
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great report sharon, but really, do you like the wines?
 
originally posted by Yule Kim:
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)
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I'm so with you on that sequence, though overall OK Computer is my favorite album of theirs. Subterranean Homesick Alien and Let Down get me every time.

I also think In Rainbows is beautiful, especially Reckoner and Weird Fishes.
 
I'll throw my hat in the ring and say that Kid A as an album is the best Radiohead album.

As for Bouchard, I tasted his wines in between Pinon and Larmandier-Bernier and thought they showed very boring in comparison.
 
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.
great report sharon, but really, do you like the wines?
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thanks for the support lady.
So here's how it goes (or went):
I order a bottle of initial and you're like "Great!"
The waitress brings some Bouchard instead, and you're like "Fuck that!"
Do i remember correctly?
Initial was tasting fucking brilliant that night by the way, one of my best experience with it, now THAT's real fucking champagne!
 
originally posted by Cory Cartwright:
I'll throw my hat in the ring and say that Kid A as an album is the best Radiohead album.

As for Bouchard, I tasted his wines in between Pinon and Larmandier-Bernier and thought they showed very boring in comparison.
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Kid A as best album is a highly defensible position to take. Both Kid A and OK Computer, to me, are conceptually the most coherent albums, the ones you want to listen to from beginning to end without skipping around because each track builds on the previous one.

[With the exception of Fitter, Happier. I always skip that shit].
 
A recent Roses de Jeanne was much better a week later as a still wine than it was when we opened it as a Champagne.
 
originally posted by guilhaume:
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.
great report sharon, but really, do you like the wines?
Click to expand...

thanks for the support lady.
So here's how it goes (or went):
I order a bottle of initial and you're like "Great!"
The waitress brings some Bouchard instead, and you're like "Fuck that!"
Do i remember correctly?
Initial was tasting fucking brilliant that night by the way, one of my best experience with it, now THAT's real fucking champagne!
Click to expand...

Offer a girl a choice, what did you expect?
 
I like Bouchard's wines quite a bit, but they are drastically different from most champagnes. Bright, clean, fresh and ripe, they express the strengths and weaknesses of his plots. Each bottling is different, and in that way interesting. They achieve a balance that is quite their own. Not a balance achieved through blending, but through diligent viticulture and winemaking. I think his wines stand out from the houses, of course, but also from many growers, in that his wines take many elements of grower champagne to their logical conclusion.

I enjoy many styles of champagne and am happy to add Bouchard's to that list.

Oh, and Kid A, OK Computer and In Rainbows, in that order. The Bends is very good, but lacks the coherence of their later work. In many ways The Bends is an album of excellent singles, but not it's not quite complete.
 
originally posted by mlawton:
A recent Roses de Jeanne was much better a week later as a still wine than it was when we opened it as a Champagne.
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I hear he is working on making a still pinot noir.
 
originally posted by jack hott:
originally posted by mlawton:
A recent Roses de Jeanne was much better a week later as a still wine than it was when we opened it as a Champagne.
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I hear he is working on making a still pinot noir.
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can't wait.
 
So I see the way it works around here: a post on Godard brings on a response from crickets, but mention Radiohead and folks are registering to get a comment in. Right, got it.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
So I see the way it works around here: a post on Godard brings on a response from crickets, but mention Radiohead and folks are registering to get a comment in. Right, got it.
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re: godard vs. radiohead

easy. you might not be a marketing genius.
 
originally posted by Scott Frank:
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
So I see the way it works around here: a post on Godard brings on a response from crickets, but mention Radiohead and folks are registering to get a comment in. Right, got it.
Click to expand...

re: godard vs. radiohead

easy. you might not be a marketing genius.
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Scott, did you register as a new user so that you could make this comment?

Clearly, Radiohead is bringing the people to WD.

No more spoof fake plastic trees!
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Scott Frank:
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
So I see the way it works around here: a post on Godard brings on a response from crickets, but mention Radiohead and folks are registering to get a comment in. Right, got it.
Click to expand...

re: godard vs. radiohead

easy. you might not be a marketing genius.
Click to expand...

Scott, did you register as a new user so that you could make this comment?

Clearly, Radiohead is bringing the people to WD.

No more spoof fake plastic trees!
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Oh, so I suppose you're on the record as being in favor of real plastic trees? Personally, I vastly prefer the fake ones, plastic ones, not christmas trees--those have to be real.

Cheers,

Kevin
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
So I see the way it works around here: a post on Godard brings on a response from crickets, but mention Radiohead and folks are registering to get a comment in. Right, got it.
Click to expand...

OK Computer = Alpha 60?

Kid A = Lemmy Caution?
 
If I wasn't so lazy, I would decant most champagnes. I also can't remember the last time I used a champagne flute; I like the Riedel Chianti glass for most champagnes, and for a lot of roses (especially saignee, e.g. L-B, V et S) prefer a Burgundy glass.

I think there's plenty of really nice champagne out there which are great for everyday drinking, and I don't quite have a place for Bouchard.
 
originally posted by Yule Kim:
originally posted by Cory Cartwright:
I'll throw my hat in the ring and say that Kid A as an album is the best Radiohead album.

As for Bouchard, I tasted his wines in between Pinon and Larmandier-Bernier and thought they showed very boring in comparison.
Click to expand...

Kid A as best album is a highly defensible position to take. Both Kid A and OK Computer, to me, are conceptually the most coherent albums, the ones you want to listen to from beginning to end without skipping around because each track builds on the previous one.

[With the exception of Fitter, Happier. I always skip that shit].
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The best sparkling wine I had on my recent trip to France was 2001 Huet by a wide margin, so I can see how Bouchard would suffer between Pinon and Larmandier-Barnier as Cory suggests.

As much as I enjoy the Bends, it is a minor work in comparison to OK Computer and Kid A. OK Computer was breathtaking on first listen. It's easy to forget, in retrospect, how truly excellent and groundbreaking it was.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:

Godard is too controversial.
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Or Godard isn't that interesting, or it seems dated to contemporary minds or film is not an interesting format for complex narrative fiction. Or maybe some folks just don't get it. Who knows?
 
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