Paul Bara, Bouzy Rouge, Coteaux Champenois

At a very pleasing stage now.

100% Pinot Noir from Grand Cru-rated vineyards in Bouzy. Tasted blind. Pale, translucent and beautifully luminous raspberry red color. Thin, almost colorless rim. Open, somewhat sappy and really fragrant nose full of Burgundian Pinosity. Seductive aromas of crunchy redcurrants, stemmy greenness, perfumed notes of violets, a some beetroot, a little bit of earthy spice, light notes of tar, a hint of ripe red gooseberry and a touch of cooked strawberry. The wine is medium-bodied, somewhat developed and rather acid-driven with …

Light red colour with brick edge. Nose with raspberries, some cherries, flowery notes, green notes, ash and developed notes with hints of mushroom. Rather light bodied with raspberries and some cherries, some green apple notes, high acidity, minerality, and a long fresh aftertaste. 87 p. Lighter and more acid-dominated than a typical Burgundy, unlikely to improve and may have been more impressive some years ago.

This is really good. Sure it is lean but it carries enough fruit balanced by great mineraluity and acidity. This drinks great.

very lean

Meh.

What a beauty. This is probably the oldest red Champenois I've had to date, but it's still young and fresh, the fruit just starting to reveal subtle gamey notes to go along with the stony earth typical of the genre. What makes these wines so special, though, is how lean and supple they are, just seeming impossibly thin like a sheet of silk, but you don't crave more of anything. The label says 12.5% which would put this at the …

Really excellent. Did not improve past the first hour or so.

You can taste "champagne" here. Lovely, lithe, minerally.

The finest bottle I've had of this wine, truly fantastic. It took a while to get there, though. Upon opening it is a bit closed down, maybe a bit reductive too, and the feeling is dark - dark fruit, dark minerals, very savory, brambly, dense. It opens slowly, but then revisiting two hours later the wine is phenomenal - bright and fresh, absolutely elegant and finessed, redolent of fresh and highly perfumed strawberries with a stone baseline. So clean and …

Clear Pinot Noir, no oak noticeable. Good purity of fruit, seems deep and dense but not very giving, lots in reserve, and not complex at this point. Hold. With Bruce G. and Brooklynguy at Rothmann’s.

This is nice, ligth and high toned, the essence of pinot

A bit thin and lifeless, especially at the price point. Like nice pinot filtered through charcoal.

beautiful! classic cold climate pinot. pale in color, such gentle extraction, with airy and incredibly pure aromas of bright red currants and berry fruit, subtle herbs, very cooling and pure. Just on the nose, it's possible to sense that the grapes were very small, and this follows through on the palate - the wine is packed with mid palate intensity but shows no real weight. The stony minerality comes through on the nose and palate after about an hour open, …

Nice pinot. Probably imaging this, but seem to be able to taste the Champagne terroir. More of a novelty than a bargain at the price point, but worth a try.

corked.