Paul Bara, Special Club Grand Cru

Opened by Allred. 70% Pinot Noir and 39% Chardonnay. This was part of a 3 bottle 2008 horizontal lineup of Paul Bara Champagnes. Solid bead upfront. Yellow color. I think I liked this better than most of the other tasters. This had a little creaminess to it with chalk, toasted brioche and citrus fruit. Medium bodied. 92-93 points.

2008 vintage

Wino Weekend; 9/26/2025-9/28/2025 (South Haven, MI) : A blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. Lingering mousse with a fine bead. Aromas of clay, brioche, pear and apple and cashew. Excellent mouthfeel; just a slight creaminess over the fine bead. Flavors of red apple, wet dough and apricot pit. Excellent.

2008 vintage

Great for drinking the whole bottle. Honey and fruit gives way to brioche and yeast and then is brought back for a fruit finish. Not the most interesting or dynamic, but delicious.

2008 vintage

Light gold, plenty of fine bubbles. Lemon, lemon curd, very light honey, bit of pear. Definite touch of chalk or talc. Great acidity, good length, very clean. Full but elegant. Lovely drop. Still very bright and fresh, quite some time ahead. Disgorged 6/18. Has gained some concentration since a year ago but still drinking very well indeed.

2008 vintage

Aging glacially. So fresh, but gaining in depth and complexity. The apple isn’t too overpowering like it sometimes can be. This is drinking beautifully now but can improve. 94-95

2008 vintage

Side by side with Paul Bara Comtesse Marie de France (dg 01/18) Starts with a bit muted fruit at first and fairly sweetish and ready to drink. A bit caramel notes at this stage less acidity than the 2004. Way easier to drink directly after opening due to acidity being less prominent only when the bubbles are gone you can feel the 2008 coming through. With a bit time notes of honey and flowers. Slowly the acidity starts to come …

2008 vintage

this opened quite youthful and exuberant - and with quite pronounced acidity - it settled and improved after a time - I would be inclined to leave this for a couple of years

2008 vintage

Quiet mousse; initially fresh & vivacious on nose & palate; lively, vinous, later plenty of brioche, then meaty. Good but others preferred it more. Probably will age further but I’d drink up.

2008 vintage

Good, but not memorable

2008 vintage

This wine is ON FIRE right now. Punchy red fruited nose with strawberry, dried orange, cranberry, and some buttered bread. The bead is very fine at this stage. Dosage is lowish and well done, integrating beautifully with the fruit. While broad shouldered, the wine is also incredibly refined. The wine floats between these two counter-points; weightlessness and vibrant fruit. Excellent acidity. The wine is incredibly well done and multi-dimensional. Just fantastic.

2008 vintage

Light gold, plenty of fine bubbles. Lemon, lemon curd, very light honey, bit of pear. Definite touch of chalk or talc. Great acidity, good length, very clean. Full but elegant. Lovely drop. Still very bright and fresh, quite some time ahead. Disgorged 6/18.

2008 vintage

Intense, rich aroma of apple pie, peach cobbler, lemon zest and plenty of yeast/brioche. Zippy lemon oil and pomegranate flavor with a honey and floral finish. Very fine mousse. Fresh, but starting to show some signs of age and tertiary qualities. Not really sure how this could improve - seems to be in the optimal drinking window unless you want some tertiary funk. Drink now. Disgorged July 2018. 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay.

2008 vintage

Finstämd och nyanserad doft av röda äpplen, päron, bulldeg, vanilj, hav och äppelsorbet. Ren och elegant smak av citrus, äpplen, päron, rabarberkompott med vaniljsås och nötter. Fin balans och gräddig mousse. Sen jag provade 2018 har syran har lugnat sig, kompositionen blommat ut och den befinner sig i ett riktigt fint fönster. Druvor: 70% Pinot Noir & 30% Chardonnay. Deg: Jan 2018.

2008 vintage

Banger. This bottle tonight is perhaps top 3 out of all the Champagnes I've ever had, rich macadamia nut in the mid-palate, fine bubbles, gastronomic. Paused me mid-sentence after I had my first sip.

2008 vintage

2002 Claret Horizontal (Piccolino, Exchange Square) : Very well poised. A bready (sourdough?) character to start on the nose. Some marzipan sweetness emerges. Palate has real presence and length. It feels as if there is time ahead. Suspect low-ish dosage. With time some snapped wheat cracker and maybe a touch of oatmeal emerges. Some lemon oil too. Lovely stuff

2008 vintage

2008 champagne tasting of medium quality producers (FOF) : The quality level from these medium quality producers is as expected far from the level delivered by producers tasted at my 2008 champagne tastings from top producers. No surprise but good to know. This wine: Deep lemon color. Aromas of (over)ripe apple, red fruit, dried fruit. better on the nose (91) than on the palate (88). A little too sweet for my taste. 89+

2008 vintage

Light gold, plenty of fine bubbles. Lemon, lemon curd, very light honey, bit of pear. Definite touch of chalk or talc. Great acidity, good length, very clean. Full but elegant. Lovely drop. Disgorged 6/18.

2008 vintage

Disgorged 06/18. This has advanced considerably very placid, oxidative bottle age dominates nose, flat feel to finish. Hopefully an odd bottle.

2008 vintage

This bottle on this night, just as good as it gets. Disgorged 7/18, more recent than I thought. Still powerful acidity and extremely fresh, but the slightest bits of toast and honey creeping in. More lemon and lemon curd than the red apple I often get with Bara. Not really developing much over a few hours. Just an absolute delight. Next bottle next year.

2008 vintage

Light plus golden color. Split bottle over 3 hours. Had this for our Valentine's Day tasting menu from Tilia. The menu was an hands down winner too. The wine worked really well through the coursing too. The nose offers chalk, baked red apple, marzipan, yeast, golden fruits and an oxidative note. The palate was fairly robust, but still had this light sense to it from the brightness; apple, lemon, cherry, and pear tart. This medium plus bodied, very easy drinking …

2008 vintage

This is my 6th bottle that I've had over the past few years. The bottles have been stored in wine fridges. The bubbles are fine and present, but not as intense as they used to be. When the cork is pulled, the leg has withered considerably, and made a very soft (almost unnoticeable) fizz sound. Flavours of cooked apples and lemon start to dominate the palate (as opposed to lemon and pear on previous occasions). The saline and yeasty/brioche flavours …

2008 vintage

Just perfect. Powerful fruit, acidity that lingers, some bitterness and a well balanced dosage. Drank over two days. Entered its drinking window, only just... As always the grand cru fruit comes through.

2008 vintage

Consistent to previous. Leave 2+ years.

2008 vintage

This remains youthful, lots of extract, finishes with a flourish. Tasty, stylish.

2008 vintage

HDH auction at Spiaggia; 6/20/2019-6/22/2019 (Chicago, IL) : Brilliant stuff -- it's a little young and grapey still, but this is a wine with tons of density and power. I'm skeptical of some of the grower wines because they tend to lean too lean and high acid, and that's a danger in a vintage like 2008, but this one is ripe and powerful with a very generous amount of dosage as well (possibly too generous?). Nonetheless there's a really nice …

2008 vintage

The best 88 Champagnes from 1988 Part 1/3; 10/12/2018-10/13/2018 (Les Crayeres Reims) : Blind, Jamesse Synergie Glas Perfectly balanced between acidity and sweetness. Roasted Macadamia, dried fig, creme brullee, at his peak. 94

1988 vintage

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Paul Bara, Special Club Grand Cru

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