Cedric Bouchard Roses de Jeanne Cote de Val Vilaine Blanc de Noirs 2018

“The NV (2018) Blanc de Noirs Val Vilaine is bright, fresh and wonderfully nuanced. Orchard fruit, citrus and floral notes give the Val Vilaine so much energy. Cédric Bouchard coaxes so much nuance from these 40 year-old vines. The Val Vilaine is always the youngest wine in the range – the current release is the 2018, which spent just 15 months on its lees – but it will give readers who aren’t familiar with these wines a very good idea of the house style. Zero dosage. Disgorged: April 2020. Pinot Noir. Drinking window: 2020-2028. 92 points

Cédric Bouchard’s 2016s are stellar. The wines are remarkable for their finesse, energy and delineation. Frost was not an issue, while the rest of the year was relatively uneventful. That effortless grace is evident in stunning Champagnes that dazzle throughout this range. As always, the wines are done in steel and bottled with no dosage, but they are never stark or austere. Meticulous work in the vineyards yields Champagnes with tremendous natural depth and intensity. Bouchard is famously stringent with his selections. There is no Creux d’Enfer Rosé in 2016. “I was not happy with the quality of the fruit in the vineyard. For me, its either yes or no. There is no ‘maybe’ in my vocabulary,” he told me.”

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (11/20)