Reviews

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne VV/R22

My previous notes on this wine apply, with a richer and slightly sweeter profile than RDJ VV's of the past. With 2022 being a seemingly stellar vintage for Champagne, I am surprised how gourmand this…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Cote de Bechalin

This thing is on absolute fire today, with a fistful of energy and drive darting out the gates from the get-go. White fruited and racy initially on entry, but almost instantly giving way to more…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Cote de Bechalin

The spine and tension here are prominent, especially for a 2012. There is Pinot power at the forefront, with less richness overall, washed over by an acidic pulse that shoots across the palate.…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

A solid performance, though this bottle was spun up a bit and slightly wiry on first pass. With air, a broader spectrum of limestone, olive oil, yellow and green pear skin, crunchy pear flesh,…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Cote de Bechalin

Red apple, golden raisin, olive oil, grilled lemon, ginger, dried apricot, and limestone notes present as caressing and smooth on the palate. Medium intensity and even a bit soft on the finish. This…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Millésimé Blanc de Noirs Les Ursules

From Magnum. Disgorged April 2020.

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne VV/R22

Rich and ripe, with even a bit of sweetness on the back end. Flavors of mirabelle plum, kirsch, white cherry, fig, red apple flesh, smoke, and ginger present as full and enveloping. A gastronomic…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

This bottle was less giving in the fruit department and, instead, spun up and hyper chiseled in its initial delivery. It quickly relaxes its grip (a bit) to unveil white and unripe yellow stone…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne BO/R19

At Le Royal restaurant, Royal Champagne Hotel, Champillon.

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Cote de Bechalin

Honey and nugget flavors compliment grilled lemon and slight burnt sugar (not sweet) notes, this is a Bechalin that is a bit oxidized, but luckily not too brassy, with medium to light perlage and a…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Cote de Bechalin

This shows incredibly young and chiseled, but it does so in a pulsating and sparkly fashion, which adds to the allure and complexity of its overall performance. Prickly pear, lemon juice and pith,…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

V18, Disgorged April 2020.

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

The 2016 Cedric Bouchard Val Vilaine hasn't changed much since my knocking back a previous bottle three years ago. This bottle was perhaps a bit more vibrant than I recall, where the grilled lemon…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Blancs La Bolorée

An extraordinary Champagne that takes a few hours of opening up before it blossoms into the bubbly phenom that it was designed to be. Unique without being an outcast, and instead a singular…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

This bottle wields broader swaths of ginger, red apple, cherry water, almond skin, and bruised lemon notes, flaunting a bit of a big house blend loftiness. There is still the obligatory freshness and…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Millésimé Blanc de Noirs Les Ursules

Another solid winner from the Bouchard lineage, the Ursules offers an impeccable representation of balance and equilibrium of flavor. Everything is properly in its place, with precision and focus…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

This needs a wee amount of cellar time in-bottle to fully come to its happy place. The flavors didn't start to expand until the final sips after over an hour of air. Linear, with some red apple flesh…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

A nicely blended hybrid between the 2015 and the 2016 vintages in terms of the delivery of flavor complexity and speed, with a savory-meets-tense red apple flesh/skin element I found compelling in…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Blancs La Haute-Lemblé

Precision and focus dominate the chiseled profile here, with heightened effervescence on the initial pop of the cork taking a fair amount of air to dissipate before the perception of fruit and flavor…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

Same as previous notes. Drinking fantastic now. V2015/disgorged2017. My favorite vintage of Val Vilaine thus far. Beautifully balanced delivery of tension and flavorful fruit. No decant this time.

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

Red apple flesh, grilled lemon rind, quince, marzipan, almond skin, and olive oil. Chiseled and focused, with a little less savory elements in its current state than its younger 2015 sibling. Hold…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

Quality and focus every time with this wine. An obvious serious side to Bouchard's Champagne, but also plenty giving in the yellow citrus, yellow pear skin, limestone, and black cherry water core.…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Cote de Bechalin

As before, I really find this wine to be a beguiling example of Pinot Noir Champagne. Focused and deliberate while also complex and just a tad funky (as is Cedric's signature), with saline meets…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

In reference to my previous note from a year ago on this wine, I can certainly tell ya'll that decanting this Champagne does absolute wonders in enabling it to fan-out its full flavor profile and…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Cote de Bechalin

A very intriguing effort, with invigorating notes of chalk and mineral inflected yellow citrus, raspberry water, and melon (grapefruit, honeydew rind), bruised lemon peel, sea foam/saline, and…