The NV (2006) Blanc de Blancs Roses de Jeanne La Haute-Lamblee, from another of the lieu-dits in Celles, is a massive, towering wine endowed with superb purity, depth and richness. Smoke, ash, minerals and varietal Chardonnay fruit come together in a powerful display of sheer class. The wine gains precision and focus on the palate, showing off a nuanced, chiseled personality that is hard to capture with words. The 2006 is quite a bit more primary than the 2004 was at this stage, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it challenge that wine in a few years. Readers should do their best to keep their hands off this majestic Champagne for at least a few years. Disgorged April, 2010. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2026. Once again, I was blown away by the wines I tasted from Cedric Bouchard. What else is new? My visit to the property earlier in the year was a revelatory experience. I got a little lost navigating my way through the sleepy village of Celles-sur-Ource, but when I happened along a meticulous, obsessively tended vineyard I knew I was close to the cellar. As exceptional as the young wines were, I was most struck by the capacity of these Champagnes to develop complexity in bottle. The 2004 Haute-Lemblee, which I scored 97 points two years ago, is living up to all of its promise, while the 2002 Creux d’Enfer, a wine I reviewed in my recent profile on Bouchard on www.erobertparker.com, left me speechless. Readers seeking to discover the finest in Champagne owe it to themselves to check out the wines of Cedric Bouchard. Minuscule yields, organically farmed old-vine parcels, a non-interventionalist approach in the winery and cellar and Bouchard’s inspired vision elevate these single-vintage, lieu-dit wines to the summit of Champagne. The wines are bottled unfined, unfiltered and with no dosage, leaving only the indelible stamp of vintage, vineyard and grape variety as interpreted by this immensely gifted vigneron. For what it is worth, these are some of the most treasured bottles I own.A Thomas Calder Selection, imported by Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY; tel. (914) 244-0404
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