Vanessa

9.4

**If interested, I’ve posted more pics of this visit and trip on my Instagram account - check me out @sips_ensemble**

We also had the pleasure to visit Champagne Paul Bara, another family-owned and -managed winery with only 8 employees! 💪 💪

It is a small but high-quality operation, producing approximately 100,000 bottles per year made exclusively from the free run juice. ✨✨✨ Thanks to the likes of @kermitlynchwine , the U.S. is a major exporting market for this wine. 🙌🙌

Paul Bara’s wines are sustainably farmed on numerous vineyard plots located throughout Bouzy, a Grand Cru village within the Montagne de Reims region of Champagne. 🏔 🏔

Bouzy is known especially for its Pinot Noir-driven Champagnes and also for its still red wines, a specialty of the region, called Coteaux Champenois. 🍇🍇

Paul Bara uses mostly stainless steel vessels for its vinification, designed to accentuate the purity of the fruit. They also use subterranean concrete vessels for the Pinot Noir used in rosé blends and for the Coteaux Champenois (still reds). 🥂

On our tour it was fascinating to see bottles being disgorged, dosaged, corked, capped, and caged on a machine in seconds — these are some of the last stages of the Méthode Champenoise. 🤓

We also learned that Paul Bara is a member of the ‘Club Trésors de Champagne’ an association of 28 vignerons formed to promote quality wine growing and winemaking practices and to highlight the beauty of terroir, demonstrating the excellence achievable outside of the major houses whose names are globally renown such as Veuve Cliquot and Moët & Chandon. 👏

Our favorite wine of the tasting was the 2010 Brut Comtesse Marie de France 🇫🇷 made exclusively from Pinot Noir grapes 🍇 It had a richness and abundance of orchard fruit, including baked yellow apple, also toast, bread dough, yeast, and dried white blossom notes, still offering finesse and precision, retaining incredible vibrancy.

We are grateful for our visit to Paul Bara and we look forward to visiting again the future! 🙏❤️ — 5 years ago

with Deked1

Neil Shah

9.2

Is Albariño the greatest grape for white? Discuss. — 8 years ago

Adrian Muffler

9.0

Probably one of the only white wines I would actually recommend. Amazing with Peking Duck and Caviar — 9 years ago

with Maximilian

Yianni Stone

9.1

Watermelon character — 9 years ago

with Haley and Matt

Manjiry Tamhane

9.2

Loved this champagne — 9 years ago

Weijie Shi (Jay)

8.9

Deep ruby, violet color, full bodied. Creme de cassis and tobacco dominant on the nose, with black cherry, blackberry, raspberry, liquorice, cedar box, mocha. Black chocolate, mocha, liquorice and black fruits on the palate. Bone dry, more grip than Reserve de la Comtesse 2012. Some green component, 30s+ finish. 13% alc. 2012 vintage — 10 years ago

with rainbow

Douglas Braun

9.1

Leesy Stoney fruit with amazing baked apple and spice — 11 years ago

Cara Almberg

9.9

I was first obsessed with the color. The over all mouth feel is amazing. It's almost overwhelming at how amazing it was. I wanted to empty the bottle but didn't it want the golden juice from running out. Obsessed. — 12 years ago

Ryan Stewart

9.1

Rich garnet color. Complex secondary flavors and aromas of wet earth, mushrooms, sage, dried figs, toast, spice, and bacon fat. Hint of cherry notes. Med body, med - tannins, very juicy and round. Med + finish. Ready to drink now! Deelish! — 12 years ago

Diana Cohen

9.5

We had at Apicius , amazing , smooth a hint of oak but rounded and easy to drink — 5 years ago

Adam Nesto

8.9

Shoutout to the Sancerre queen @kbidness — 7 years ago

with Alex

Ned Gray Creed

9.2

Monopole! That one wasn’t in my list. Chalk up another delicious Monopole tasted. The list is long and distinguished, and fun to chase down. The resolution continues almost 10 years later. 100 Wines Kermit tasting. — 8 years ago

Johan Larsson

Owner/Sommelier tapasbar

9.3

Inte lik nån annan Albarino jag druckit. Krämig textur och ek som hade lett mig helt fel i en blindprovning. Stort vin med fantastisk karaktär från jästen och mogna gula stenfrukter. — 8 years ago

Aaron Means

9.0

Great value Bordeaux made by the Pichon Comtesse team! — 9 years ago

Casey Stringer

9.4

Fantastic white burg. Citrus, gardenia, and pistachios. Wish this was a mag. — 9 years ago

Nate Redner

9.5

Fresh and elegant. Honey, orange zest and hazlenut. — 10 years ago

Cathy Corison

Owner/Winemaker Corison Winery

9.2

Tasty on Halloween with fondue. — 11 years ago

with William and Debora

Daniel Sherbert

9.1

Licorice, autumn apples, clean finish — 11 years ago

Collin Moody

8.9

Among domestic Pinot and super Tuscans, this is a gem!!! — 11 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Brilliant. 2012. — 12 years ago

Andrew

9.4

Excellent white burgundy. Mineraly and smooth. — 6 years ago

Matthew Lajoie

10

2016. Shit year. Great wine. Easy smooth and sunny. The wife brought this beauty back from France (we live in Toronto) great great wine. — 7 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

8.9

A hand crafted blend of 50% Pinot Meunier, 30% Pinot Noir, and 20% Chardonnay. Golden straw with stone fruit aromas and yeasty notes. On the palate pear and apple flavors with a nutty toasty character. Well balanced on a long finish ending with chalky mineral tones. — 7 years ago

Catrin Enoksson

10

Supergott, fylligt och inte så torrt utan åt det fruktiga hållet. Gott att dricka bara som det är! — 8 years ago

Andrew Crane

9.3

Pear, some citrus and flint — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I have to say this is my favorite Chateau to stand in front of and gaze. On the nose, spice, wild blackberries, dark cherries, blueberries, black plum, plum, leather, cedar, dark moist soil, wet stones, mint, tobacco leaf and dark fresh & dry flowers. It's drinking nicely with silty medium-medium + tannins & full bodied. Ruby, ripe wild blackberries, dark cherries, blueberries, black plum, plum, leather, cedar, dark moist soil, wet stones, crushed dry minerals, mint, tobacco leaf and violets, dark fresh & dry flowers. The acidity is round and mouthwatering. The long finish has great elegance, beauty, length, tension & balance. It's just starting to hit it's stride and has plenty of life ahead of it. Another 15-20 years. Who said 04 was a difficult vintage? This will continue to improve and will stun with another 10 years in bottle. Photos of the the exterior Chateau front & side, tasting room and Christian Seely Managing Director. Chateau Pichon Baron and Chateau Pichon Lalande were originally part of the same estate. Pichon Baron got it's name when Therese, daughter of the founder, received the estate as a dowry when she married Jacques de Pichon Longueville the first President of the Bordeaux Parliament. Chateau Pichon Baron changed because of the Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville. He took over managing Pichon Baron when he was only 19 years old! When the Baron passed away at 90 in 1850, he divided his Pauillac estate. The sons were awarded what became Chateau Pichon Baron and the daughters were given what later became Chateau Pichon Lalande. Pichon Baron went through three rough decades in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Part of the issues were, lack of investment and they machine harvested. The first really great vintages for them were 89 & 90 after Jean Rene Matignon, Jean-Michel Cazes join them and AXA Insurance Company purchased them adding capital. The 73 hectare vineyard of Chateau Pichon Baron are planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. However, the Cabernet Franc and the Petit Verdot are reserved exclusively for the second wine. The terroir is mostly deep gravel, sand clay soils. Pichon Baron uses 80% new French oak and rests in barrel 18 months. @ FogoDeChao

— 9 years ago

Frej Helstrand

9.0

Brutal Trosseau — 11 years ago

Olivier Delestre

9.1

Typical Pessac-Leognan taste — 11 years ago

Brendan Leary

9.0

Always above my expectations have a variety of blended yet conflicting flavor I like — 12 years ago

Cristina Behrens

9.2

Bright and smooth — 12 years ago