Cedric Bouchard Roses de Jeanne Rose de Saignee Le Creux d’Enfer 2013 750ml

One of the greatest hits of this cuvée, Cédric Bouchard’s 2013 Rosé de Saignée Le Creux d’Enfer, continues to deliver fireworks, leaping from the glass with a bouquet of kaleidoscopic complexity. Notes of hard cherry candy, orange rind and Sichuan pepper mingle with wild raspberry, warm pastry and a faint hint of sage leaf oil. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied and subtle, with a sweet yet vibrantly fresh core of fruit, braced by mouthwatering acidity and culminating in a precise, sapid and delicately perfumed finish. Unsurprisingly, given Bouchard’s uncompromising methods, one of my highest-rated rosé Champagnes originates from a vineyard not even classified as premier cru, but when the result in the glass is as profound as the 2013, it more than earns that distinction.

• Country: France
• Region: Champagne
• Size: 750ml
• Color: Rose
• Alcohol by Vol: 12.5%

Varietal

Champagne Blend

The sparkling wines of Champagne have been revered by wine drinkers for hundreds of years, and even today they maintain their reputation for excellence of flavor and character, and are consistently associated with quality, decadence, and a cause for celebration. Their unique characteristics are partly due to the careful blending of a small number of selected grape varietals, most commonly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These grapes, blended in fairly equal quantities, give the wines of Champagne their wonderful flavors and aromas, with the Pinot Noir offering length and backbone, and the Chardonnay varietal giving its acidity and dry, biscuity nature. It isn’t unusual to sometimes see Champagne labeled as ‘blanc de blanc’, meaning it is made using only Chardonnay varietal grapes, or ‘blanc de noir’, which is made solely with Pinot Noir.