After several years away, we finally managed to catch Pascal Bardoux in his house in Champagne this spring. Pascal is a talker – thoughtful and articulate, somewhere between absentminded professor and soft spoken sage. It only took 20 minutes for his giant French-English dictionary to emerge from the back room for a precise tasting note translation he wasn’t sure we’d…
Over the weekend Pascal Bardoux welcomed us to his kitchen table for an intimate tasting of his terrific grower Champagnes. Pascal’s wines are just like the man himself: subtle, understated, and delightful. In a region where “le marketing” is king, Bardoux’s delicious, hand-crafted, well-priced cuvées stand out.
Champagne is a complicated place. Since its early days the region has been inseparably linked to a sense of glamour and marketing. It can be easy to lose track of quality and distinctiveness amid Champagne’s glossy promotional haze.
The vignerons of Champagne grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Blanc de Noirs cuvées are blends using the two Pinot varietals, whose skins are dark but whose juice is clear – Blanc de blancs cuvées come from Chardonnay.
We’re excited about our newest source for grower Champagne: the Domaine Jacques Robin. Robin is in the Côtes des Bar, a sub-region of Champagne located near Chablis and known for its Pinot Noir-heavy cuvées. All four of their wines are well priced, easy to like, and hard to put down.
The Domaine Jacques Robin is a tiny source in the Côtes des Bar, a southern satellite subregion of Champagne. We’re among their first US importers, and found their wines charming and extremely well priced.
Winston Churchill once said of Champagne, “in victory you deserve it, in defeat you need it.” Wherever the country lands this week, and whatever your reaction, we can assure you Champagne is a helpful accessory.
Our newest Champagne source is the Domaine Jacques Robin. They’re a small family outfit located in the Côtes des Bar, a sub-region of Champagne located near Chablis and known for its Pinot Noir-heavy cuvées. It’s an up-and-coming region these days, and one taste of this wine will explain why.
Pascal Bardoux is our grower Champagne producer just west of Reims. His Pinot-Meunier dominant cuvées are carefully crafted and perfectly elegant. Amid Champagne’s haze of le marketing and glossy promotion, Bardoux’s wines are quietly brilliant.
Today we’re sharing an exciting discovery from earlier this year: a new grower Champagne producer. The Domaine Jacques Robin is a tiny source in the Côtes des Bar, a southern satellite subregion of Champagne. We’re among their first US importers, and found their wines charming and extremely well priced.
Amid Champagne’s glitz and glamour, winemaker Pascal Bardoux stands out. His cuvées are quietly exceptional -- his tasting room is his small untidy office, where we taste slowly and thoughtfully from an old beat-up leather sofa. “Le marketing” is nowhere to be seen.
Champagne is a complicated place. Since its early days the region has been inseparably linked to a sense of glamour and “le marketing.” It can be easy to lose track of quality and distinctiveness amid Champagne’s glossy promotional haze.
Champagne is a complicated place. Since its early days the region has been inseparably linked to a sense of glamour and “le marketing.” It can be easy to lose track of quality and distinctiveness amid Champagne’s glossy promotional haze.
Pascal Bardoux is among the newer additions to our portfolio, but he is already a favorite among our readers. His small-batch Champagnes are distinctive, delicious, complex, and comparative bargains. Much of the mass-market Champagne distributed in the US between $75 and $100 a bottle; Bardoux’s small-batch Brut Traditionnel doesn’t even crack $50. It’s twice the wine at half the price.
Pascal Bardoux’s Traditionnel and Rosé Champagnes will be featured in this Sunday’s September Futures notes, but not his Vintage cuvée. Bardoux skips years he thinks don’t deserve the “Millesimé” label, and 2011 didn’t meet his lofty standards.