Champagne Paul Bara Comtesse Marie de France 2005

100% Pinot Noir produced only in the very best years for Pinot Noir with a total production about 500 dozen bottles. This comes from one of their oldest vineyards around 55 years old which is located mid-slope giving perfect roundness and balance. Aged for 10 years on lees (disgorged 09/16) and finished with a Brut dosage of 7g/l. 2005 was a warm ripe year giving generosity and volume and ageing for 10 years on lees has kept the freshness of lees contact making for a very complete and richly styled champagne.

Located in Bouzy just to the east of Epernay in the Marne Valley, Champagne Paul Bara uses only their own estate grown fruit from 100% Grand cru rated vineyards to craft it’s small range of champagnes.

Their superbly sited vineyard sites have over the years been sought after by many of the top Champagne houses, and while many other producers have been busily expanding, Paul Bara have remained producing the highest quality possible from these same 11 hectares for seven generations. Now managed by Chantal Bara, the beliefs and methods remain true to previous generations, producing very low yields of the best possible grapes from these superb vineyard sites. The great art in the champagnes of Paul Bara remains the same as it always has, it is the stunning purity and depth of 100% Grand cru Bouzy fruit maintained with finesse and balance that is achieved by using such a high percentage of Pinot Noir in the blend.

Whilst the region of Burgundy has enjoyed a huge revival of its fortunes in the past 3 decades as a result of the surge in quality coming from the small growers who are now estate bottling, Champagne is also now seeing a similar surge of interest in small high quality grower champagnes. In Burgundy the best sites for each variety are well researched and have proven their capacity to produce wines of a certain quality level for centuries. Similarly in the Champagne region, the best sites of land are rated and the prices of grapes that can be achieved from those sites will depend on the rating of each site. Bouzy is one of the few villages rated 100% Grand cru and these champagnes come from those superbly sited vineyards.