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.
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.
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.
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.
Pascal Bardoux is a quiet, pensive winemaker. In Champagne, land of glitzy tasting rooms and glossy brochures, his humble demeanor and unassuming style distinguish him. Our tastings together are long and measured -- each wine has time to develop in the glass, and a discussion follows with precise references to rare fruits and other scents.
We first met Pascal Bardoux less than two years ago, 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.
We often preach the value of well-aged wines. Under the right conditions, time has a magical effect on a bottle of wine. Usually it’s red wines (or sometimes whites) that are ageworthy, but we often forget the third category: Champagne.
Pascal Bardoux is a quiet, pensive winemaker. In Champagne, land of glitzy tasting rooms and glossy brochures, his humble demeanor and unassuming style distinguish him. Our tastings together are long and measured -- each wine has time to develop in the glass, and a discussion follows involving precise references to rare fruits and other scents.
One thing that separates good wines from great ones is their ability to age. With each passing year the difference between a Côtes du Rhône and a Châteauneuf-du-Pape increases. It’s the same with Burgundy and Bordeaux, and also with today’s subject: Champagne.