Or shall we call it ‘The Richards’ ?! Instead of ‘The Champagne Oscars’ ? We want to sum-up the year of 2023 from a Champagne perspective. In 20+ categories we hand out awards for this years most memorable Champagnes & Champagne related topics!
[featured partner – vigneron.se]
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
1959 Paul Bara ’Blanc de Noirs Vinothèque’
98(98)p
TASTING NOTE ‘I asked Paul Bara which of the vintages he has produced during his lifetime he was most satisfied with. “Come here and I’ll show you,” he said, and he fetched a normally disgorged half bottle of this peerless wine. The mousse was weak and the color glowed amber. In the nose I was met by an indescribably wonderful wave of sensations: mint chocolate, rum, peaches, wood, and honey. The flavor was even more impressive, if that’s possible, with an Yquem-like structure and sweetness. The flavor was exceptionally deep, uniting mint chocolate with rum liqueur. When Pinot Noir tastes like this, even the most confirmed Chardonnay lover can’t fail to be converted. Winner in the Pinot Noir class at the Millennium Tasting. Thanks dear Stephanie that we got to taste this memory again 2024! Perhaps even more tobaco and perhaps even lighter. Perhaps a bit less fruity notes, but exactly as majestic as at the Millennium Tasting.’
PAUL BARA
★★★★
Paul Bara is allready a legend in Champagne. He took over the firm as a teenager sixty years ago and remembered every vintage in perfect detail. He belonged to the sixth generation to run the company since it was founded in 1833. Many major Champagne houses have approached Bara over the years to try to buy the thirty exceptional locations he controls from 11 hectares in the village. The average age of the vines is around thirty-five years, but those that produce the vintage wines are over forty. With new people at the helm Bara is still the most quality-obsessed grower in Bouzy. Only the first pressing is used, the wines are aged for at least four years in the cold cellar, and the yield is maintained at the lowest possible level. Despite the traditional methods, Bara’s wines have a very elegant fruitiness, which is unique in Bouzy. It is incomprehensible that he used to be best known for his red wine when his Champagne is of world class. His ’59 was hailed as the best Blanc de Noirs at the Millennium Tasting. Todays winemaker is Christian Forget.
‘The wines are still great. Comtesse Marie de France is the gem to search for!’
Champagne Club by Richard Juhlin
