Roses de Jeanne (Cédric Bouchard)

Champagne / France

At A Glance

Winemaker(s)

Cédric Bouchard

Appellation

Champagne (Côte des Bar)

Varieties

Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc

Their Story

“These remain some of the most spectacular wines being made anywhere in the world, and are well worth the effort of finding them. Frankly, I can't think of too many wines I would rather drink.” — Antonio Galloni, Vinous

Cédric Bouchard began making wines in 2000 from 1.37 hectares of vines in the vineyard Les Ursules in the village of Celles-sur-Ource in the Côte des Bar region of Champagne. The vines were passed on to him by his father, a wine grower with very different philosophies of winemaking than his son. Cédric released his first wine in 2002 labeled ‘Roses de Jeanne’ in honor of his Polish grandmother. In 2012, Cédric moved out of his father’s cave and into his own. Cédric has slowly grown his domaine, producing minuscule quantities of exceptional wine from incredibly low yields, and embracing at the time a revolutionary philosophy of bottling single vineyard, single grape variety (pinot noir, chardonnay or pinot blanc), and single vintage cuveés.

Mid Post Image
Lieu-dit Les Ursules in January.

In the cellar, Cédric does a second sorting of the grapes and a single pressing. He is almost ruthless in choosing which grapes survive for fermentation. Rather than blending different parcels and vintages to make a single cuvée, Cédric creates individual wines of great character each year with a strict avoidance of blending of any kind. He does not use any oak, believing it would add something unnatural to the wine. Only indigenous yeasts are used, he refuses to chaptalize, he doesn’t fine or filter, there is no cold-stabilization and Cédric does not add any dosage. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally and the wines are racked only once just before bottling. Cédric believes in a long, slow and cool second fermentation which creates smaller, finer bubbles, and helps to enhance the vinosity of the underlying wine. The wines of Roses de Jeanne are those of purity, they are unlike any other champanges being produced.

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