Roses de Jeanne Val Vilaine VV/R21 2021
- Region
- France » Champagne » Champagne AOC » Côte des Bar
- Type
- white traditional sparkling, brut
- Producer
- Vintage
- 2021
- Disgorged
- 2023
- On lees
- N/A
- Grapes
- Pinot Noir
- Alcohol
- 12.5
- Sugar
- 1
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Cellar
- not available
- Find at
Ratings
I was planning to save this bottle for a tasting, but then thought - screw it. I wanted to drink at least half of it on my own. And what better occasion than a quiet Greek-style evening with a friend? Once again, this wine proves it's made for slow drinking. It unfolds so gracefully. Still very young, and it's more about the wine than the bubbles. Honey, propolis, tropical fruit, sake, citrus, smoke, cheese rind, flowers. But the real charm is how effortlessly drinkable it is - great structure, lovely intensity, flavours that stretch and morph. Fresh, crisp, with a long, elegant finish. It was such a joy to drink it slowly.
Also on the delicate side, but with more of that yeasty character - like a cheese sandwich in a good way. There's florality, a cidery tang, a bit of smoke too. But what makes it shine is how drinkable it is - great structure, lovely intensity, flavours that stretch and shift. Fresh, crisp, and with a long, elegant finish. This one really hits the mark.
About Producer
Roses de Jeanne is the project of Cédric Bouchard, who began bottling under this name in 2000 after a short career as a sommelier in Paris. He returned to his roots in the Côte des Bar, taking over a small plot of his father's vines near Celles-sur-Ource - and instead of following Champagne's traditional playbook, he rewrote it entirely.
No blending. No dosage. No compromise. Just one vineyard, one grape, one vintage - each time.
It might sound like dogma, but it's not. What Bouchard is chasing is clarity. His work in the vineyard is quiet and deliberate - organic farming, radically low yields, an insistence on perfect ripeness. In the cellar, he uses only the first press juice, lets native yeasts take the lead, and relies on a slow, cool second fermentation to shape the texture. Everything is done to preserve detail and nuance.
The wines aren't filtered through Champagne's usual layers of reserve wines and house style. They come straight from the place, vintage, and Bouchard's exacting vision.
He started small - just 1.37 hectares - and many of the wines remain painfully limited. But each cuvée is a distinct and articulate expression of its origin:
- Val Vilaine – 100% Pinot Noir from the lieu-dit of Val Vilaine. Often the most approachable in the range, though no less serious. 300–500 cases.
- Les Ursules – Also Pinot Noir, from a south-facing site on Kimmeridgian limestone. More structured, more brooding. First released in 2014.
- Côte de Bachelin [La Parcelle] – Single parcel Pinot Noir, aged three years on lees. Around 150 cases annually.
- Haute-Lemblée – Chardonnay from a chalky plot. Rare, mineral, hauntingly pure.
- Bolorée – Pinot Blanc. Yes, Pinot Blanc. From a site called La Bolorée. Textured and oddly timeless.
- Creux d'Enfer Rosé – Saignée rosé of Pinot Noir. The rarest wine in the cellar. Almost mythological in its scarcity.
These aren't showy wines. They don't sparkle conventionally. Instead, they hum with energy - tense, soil-driven, sometimes austere, always precise. They're not for everyone, and that's fine.
Bouchard himself suggests decanting them gently. I'd add - give them time, give them silence, and they'll tell you where they come from.
Related Wines
