Oh my!

Florida Jim

Florida Jim

Florida Jim
N/V Cedric Bouchard, Champagne Brut Inflorescence - La Parcelle:
Blanc de noir, aged in stainless, 80 months on the lees, organic farming, low yields, indigenous yeasts and, although this is N/V, it is all 2002 fruit. 12.5% alcohol.
About $90, retail.

I have had a lot of very expensive and/or highly touted champagnes and bubbles, and, while I like most of them, none have made a lasting impression - not the Krug line-up, not the small grower stuff, not the hotsy-totsy cuvees, not the off-the-wall stuff and not even aged bottles.

But this . . . oh my! It is indescribably delicious.
So, no description.
But I will say that this impressed me as the finest wine I have ever tasted. And Diane felt the same.
I bought six for those moments special to us.
We will savor each; promise.

Best, Jim

(BTW, I looked for this in a lot of places and no one else has this exact bottle. They may have other vintages, cuvees or Bouchard bubblies made from different grapes but only Rare Wine in Sonoma has this bottle - and they have 27 left, as of today.)
 
The Champagne Warrior begs to differ!

So much for Brad. Sounds pretty interesting. Found a fact sheet on Bouchard that says he only makes single-vinyard, single-variety, single vintage Champagnes. But the cuvees on his site are all NV. Perhaps because of that thing where he sells the wine before the prescribed period necessary to call it 'vintage?' Is there any indication on the bottle that yours come from one particular vintage?

Thanks for sharing!
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
The Champagne Warrior begs to differ!

So much for Brad. Sounds pretty interesting. Found a fact sheet on Bouchard that says he only makes single-vinyard, single-variety, single vintage Champagnes. But the cuvees on his site are all NV. Perhaps because of that thing where he sells the wine before the prescribed period necessary to call it 'vintage?' Is there any indication on the bottle that yours come from one particular vintage?

Thanks for sharing!
Click to expand...

My bottle of Parcelle which I bought at Chambers over 6 months ago says "Bouchard C Parcelle B/N 2002" on the back store label. But on the actual label the only codes I see say "ND-1187-001/L 01"

Given my past mixed experiences with Bouchard I wasn't holding out that much hope but now I'm looking forward to it. Maybe I'll open it tomorrow.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
The Champagne Warrior begs to differ!

Perhaps because of that thing where he sells the wine before the prescribed period necessary to call it 'vintage?' Is there any indication on the bottle that yours come from one particular vintage?

Thanks for sharing!
Click to expand...

Yes that is the case, as it is with a number of producers (like Prevost). As for a vintage stamp, there has generally been no recognizable indication of vintage and, to my understanding most have been sold on the word of Bouchard and the importer. They are usually wrapped in paper and I've heard that some have been marked with a vintage but most retailers remove those anyway by the time they get to the floor.
Its a bit of a trainwreck that Bouchard needs to sort out. I mean, really, how hard is a vintage/disgorge date stamp to do?
 
We went to our Grape & Gripe Group annual Champagne, Caviar, Sushi, Sashimi, etc tasting in SO CA a few months ago. No sparkling wines, Champagnes only, one of the Bouchards was the overwhelming favorite and there were many big names involved. I'm not a big Champagne freak but the wine was impressive for a sparkler IMHO.
 
originally posted by Brian C:
Its a bit of a trainwreck that Bouchard needs to sort out. I mean, really, how hard is a vintage/disgorge date stamp to do?
Click to expand...

Judging by some unsystematic sampling of web stuff on Bouchard, his is a small (one-man?) operation, so this detail might just be one thing too many for him to do. Evidently, the WA Champagne Reviewer blew star dust on him not too long ago, so he may be able to hire more staff soon, if he wants to. You get the impression he's very fussy about the way things are done in his domaine. He has a very arty (in a good way) web site.
 
So many European wine/food web sites in general. Researching a trip, it becomes something other than a crack-up waiting for all those things to load.
 
I have been accused in the past of liking the wines of Cedric Bouchard.

I recently ordered two different vintages of C. Bouchard Roses de Jeanne from the NY importer. As they were for delivery on the same day, I inquired as to how I would be able to tell the one six-pack from the other. I was told that the wine based on 2008 sports a neck label indicating the vintage. I will confirm when it arrives.
 
Levi,
Labeling seems to be a challenge for this house.
The bottle I got had no govt. warning until the importer used a second label to deliver that message and his information.
Best, Jim
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
Levi,
Labeling seems to be a challenge for this house.
The bottle I got had no govt. warning until the importer used a second label to deliver that message and his information.
Best, Jim
Click to expand...
Jim, probably didn't want to waste the French labels on exported bottles.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
I have been accused in the past of liking the wines of Cedric Bouchard.

I recently ordered two different vintages of C. Bouchard Roses de Jeanne from the NY importer. As they were for delivery on the same day, I inquired as to how I would be able to tell the one six-pack from the other. I was told that the wine based on 2008 sports a neck label indicating the vintage. I will confirm when it arrives.
Click to expand...

Rose de Jeanne Ursules from '06 fruit was spectacular on Monday night at Brooklyn Fare....
 
I've had some Bouchards that I've adored and others that were just dull. I don't really know what to expect when I open a bottle. So at those prices I've stopped buying. But if the Parcelle (my last bottle) is as good as Jim says I may have to start again.
 
Jay,
FYI, this is the only bottle of Bouchard bubbles I have tried. I hear nice things about other bottlings but have no experience.
This was just other-worldly and I am no champagne guy - usually bubbles are filler for me. So I was shocked.
Even more so when my wife came over and said it was the best wine she'd tasted in . . . forever!

The times we agree on excellent wine are to be counted on one hand; that we both agreed this was the best wine we could remember, was akin to the harmonic convergence.
Hence, my gushing.
Best, Jim
 
Funny thing is, it wasn't made by Bouchard.

Peter Liem:

"La Parcelle is a 50-are, southwest-facing parcel of pinot noir in Celles-sur-Ource that Bouchard purchased in 2007, from an old friend of the family. Its previous owner made a little wine but never sold it, and Bouchard was so impressed with the viticulture and the winemaking that when he purchased the vineyard, he also bought all of the old stocks of champagne, and is now releasing them under the Inflorescence label, which is permissible through the ND registration. [...] The 2007 vintage will be the first wine from this parcel that Bouchard actually made himself, although this wont be released for at least another several years."
 
What was it about this wine that made it stand apart from the rest? I cannot say I have been overly impressed by what I've had to date, although I have not had the Parcelle.
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
Funny thing is, it wasn't made by Bouchard.

Peter Liem:

"La Parcelle is a 50-are, southwest-facing parcel of pinot noir in Celles-sur-Ource that Bouchard purchased in 2007, from an old friend of the family. Its previous owner made a little wine but never sold it, and Bouchard was so impressed with the viticulture and the winemaking that when he purchased the vineyard, he also bought all of the old stocks of champagne, and is now releasing them under the Inflorescence label, which is permissible through the ND registration. [...] The 2007 vintage will be the first wine from this parcel that Bouchard actually made himself, although this wont be released for at least another several years."
Click to expand...

I have the same problem with old Huet.
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
Levi,
Labeling seems to be a challenge for this house.
The bottle I got had no govt. warning until the importer used a second label to deliver that message and his information.
Best, Jim
Click to expand...

I think this is actually pretty standard.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
Funny thing is, it wasn't made by Bouchard.

Peter Liem:

"La Parcelle is a 50-are, southwest-facing parcel of pinot noir in Celles-sur-Ource that Bouchard purchased in 2007, from an old friend of the family. Its previous owner made a little wine but never sold it, and Bouchard was so impressed with the viticulture and the winemaking that when he purchased the vineyard, he also bought all of the old stocks of champagne, and is now releasing them under the Inflorescence label, which is permissible through the ND registration. [...] The 2007 vintage will be the first wine from this parcel that Bouchard actually made himself, although this wont be released for at least another several years."
Click to expand...

I have the same problem with old Huet.
Click to expand...

Me, too!!!!
 
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