Cedric Bouchard Roses de Jeanne Rose de Saignee Le Creux d’Enfer, Champagne, France

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The 2007 Roses de Jeanne Rose Creux d’Enfer (100% Pinot Noir) is a beauty. Tropical fruit, pomegranate, bacon fat and licorice are some of the many nuances that emerge from this exotic wine. The 2007 is a relatively understated Creux d’Enfer, but it nevertheless shows incredible finesse and fabulous overall balance. A classy, understated finish rounds out beautifully. Cedric Bouchard’s Creux d’Enfer remains one of the most compelling wines being made anywhere in the world. Disgorged April 2011. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. Cedric Bouchard remains at the forefront of innovation in Champagne. Yields are minuscule, even by the most exacting definition. The wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts and are bottled unfined and unfiltered with no dosage. Bouchard is adamant that he wants to stay at a size where he alone can do all of the work, so readers should not expect production to increase in a meaningful way, at least not any time soon. There is a new Champagne in the works, though, a 100% Pinot Noir from La Proele, a tiny parcel of just 0.025 hectares (15 rows) planted with 10 different Pinot rootstocks. This is the same parcel Bouchard had used for his Coteaux Champenois Pinots, a project he has since abandoned, as he wasn’t happy with the quality of the wines. The 2007 and 2008 Coteaux Champenois Chardonnays are still in the cellar, but here, too, it appears the still-wine experiment was short-lived. I am not sure anyone will mind too much given the quality of Bouchard’s Champagnes. Bouchard plans to phase out the Infloresence brand by 2013/2014, once the ownership of the respective vineyards passes into his direct ownership. At that point, all of the wines will be sold under the Roses de Jeanne brand. Unfortunately the already tiny production is down by as much as 50% for the 2007 La Boloree, Haute-Lemblee and Creux d’Enfer because of hail damage, so the wines will be harder to find than usual. Furthermore, I was not able to taste the 2009 Les Ursules, but will report on that wine as soon as I can. Incidentally, 2010 is the last year Les Ursules will be released as a non-vintage wine. These remain some of the most spectacular wines being made anywhere in the world, and are well worth the effort of finding them. Frankly, I can’t think of too many wines I would rather drink.A Thomas Calder Selection, imported by Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY; tel. (914) 244-0404

The 2004 Roses de Jeanne Rose de Saignee Creux d-Enfer is made from miniscule yields of 12 hectoliters per hectare. The wine is vinified in the saignee style, which is to say that the wine is made from 100% Pinot Noir, rather than a blend to which still Pinot is added. This rich, exuberant Champagne is loaded with ripe red fruit. The mousse is very fine, yet the wine shows some animale notes that recall the great red Burgundies of Gevrey. This is a wild, unrestrained wine imbued with tons of personality and class that is not to be missed. Bouchard's Rose de Saignee Creux d-Enfer spent 46 months on its lees and was bottled unfined and unfiltered with no dosage. Sadly there are just a few hundred bottles of this magical wine to go around. This bottle was disgorged in March 2008. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2014. The explosive, kaleidoscopic Champagnes of Cedric Bouchard are some of the most compelling wines coming out of the region today. Quite simply, this set of new releases left me speechless and literally shaking my head in awe. Readers should do whatever they can to experience these magnificent wines. Bouchard farms just under three hectares of vineyards. There are two ranges; the Inflorescence wines are made from vineyards owned by Bouchard's father, while the Roses de Jeanne wines are made from vineyards Bouchard owns himself. The vineyards are cropped to yields that would be considered miniscule in any region in the world, but are shockingly low compared to the average in Champagne, where high yields are prevalent. Because of the low yields, the wines reveal a very fine and subtle mousse. The wines are made from hand harvested fruit, crushed by foot and fermented with natural yeasts. Bouchard prefers stainless steel, as he believes the neutrality of steel allows for the maximum amount of expression of his philosophy, which is single-vineyard,single vintage and single-variety bottlings. The wines are neither fined nor filtered and are disgorged with no dosage. Unfortunately the wines do not carry a disgorgement date on the label, although I am told that will be changing next year.A Thomas Calder Selection, imported by Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY; tel. (914) 244-0404

The NV (2006) Roses de Jeanne Rose Le Creux d’Enfer is a breathtaking, utterly profound wine of epic dimensions. Smoke, minerals, chalk and bacon fat are some of the nuances that develop in the glass, adding endless layers of complexity to the intensely perfumed fruit. The 2006 is a powerful, imposing Creux d’Enfer that ideally needs a few more years in bottle, although I suspect most of the 480 bottles produced will long have been enjoyed before the wine enters its peak drinking window. A recent bottle of the 2002 was fabulous. Readers who are fortunate to find the Creux d’Enfer will be treated to a thrilling, unforgettable drinking experience. The Creux D’Enfer is 100% Pinot Noir crushed by foot, fermented with ambient yeasts and bottled unfined, unfiltered and with no dosage. It is as pure a wine as exists on Planet Earth. 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