I think the Fac-similie is pretty vintage specific; the 13 (especially) and 14 are magic. The 15 and 16 are not. I’ve not had as much of Bouchard’s rose (not a surprise given the production size), but I have yet to have one that has hit the heights of Prevost’s best vintages. And I don’t say that as a slight to Bouchard’s wines in the slightest; but I think the Boloree is his best and most interesting wine.
I would also generally agree that the pricing on the Creux d’Enfre reflects scarcity more than anything else.
Oh I’m not saying there won’t be a gap. There will. I’m just saying that the fact that people are willing to pay $800 a bottle for a wine that might not even be his best is pretty good evidence that the other wines are likely to increase in price.
There are clearly a ton of great experiences with aged bottles. There are some disappointments. Gotta be eyes wide open about that if you are gonna spend a bunch of cash. Ive found a bunch of folks who still think these are at their best in their youth. Haven’t found anyone who has said that you have to drink them young, at least post 2012.
Alex
If I remember correctly, Fu likes them with some age on them. He can correct me if I’m wrong.
Love the wines. Rarely buy them any more.
I’ve only had ‘17 and ‘18 Facsimile and they were good but not great. I’ve had ‘10, ‘11, ‘12 and ‘14 of CE—liked all (other than ‘11, which is fairly vegetal and herbal) more than the two Facsimile.
The 17 Facsimile needs age, for sure; it’s too young. I’ve not yet had the 18.
EDIT: I take it back, I have had the 18. It wasn’t my favorite Fac-simile, but it was good.
Which ones should I look for if I want to try one young to get a style for the wine?
Ursules ‘17 is probably drinking the best of the current release (which is ‘19 VV, ‘14 BE and ‘17 PR/UR/CE/BO).
Val Vilaine is the most easily found but I think it doesn’t wow you in its youth, and I would gladly pay double the price of VV for Ursules. With age, it’s a different story.
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Bechalin is the sweet spot, IMO
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I enjoy the wines young and old. Young for their incredible vibrancy and old for some of the texture and body they build, as well as other flavors that develop alongside the incredible fruit of their youth. A few quick tasting notes on slightly older to much older (by RdJ standards) releases over the last year, though not super detailed (and not providing much useful information at all really on the 11 Inflorescence other than that I enjoyed it):
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2009 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Blancs La Haute-Lemblé - France, Champagne (12/24/2021)
honey and ripe peaches on the nose. Creamy texture, nice weight, sweet red fruit, lychee, some apple pie on the back of the tongue. This is a crazy Blanc de Blancs.
Posted from CellarTracker
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2004 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Inflorescence Blanc de Noirs La Parcelle Côte de Béchalin - France, Champagne (8/26/2021)
not really showing any age in the color. Nose shows a little honey, but otherwise sweet breads (not sweetbreads) and overripe pear nose, layers of flavor, with a little smokiness, a little vanilla, loads of orchard fruit and great acid on the finish. 30 minutes later all ruggedness has shaken off and it’s a stunner. The fruit and smokiness are there, the acid has dropped to an appropriate back level, the finish lasts for a minute. So incredible now, but zero rush on this one either.
Posted from CellarTracker
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2011 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Inflorescence Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine - France, Champagne (3/27/2021)
Let this bottle breathe and it turns into something truly magical. What a delicious wine, incredible fruits, slightest hint of aging. So good.
Posted from CellarTracker
I’m lucky to have back to 2002-2004, 2007 & 2008 Parcelle/Bechalin 2006 HL, 2007 Boloree, and 2008 Inflorescence/VV in my cellar, and I’m in no rush on any of them.
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This is great. Thank you for posting.
Alex
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So I heard today that in some vintages the ursules mags spend and extra year on the lees. Can anyone who was paid attention to these wines for more than the last 30 days add details about this? Is it every vintage? Who has the details?
Thanks
I’ve never heard that before. I haven’t been following Bouchard for nearly as long as some on this board, but as a data point, both the 750ml and Mag of the 2012 Ursules have the same disgorgement date (April 2016). If the mags spent extra time on the lees, the disgorgement dates would be different. I don’t have access to other bottles to compare, but I’ll leave that to others to chime in.
Wow, $145 from Woodland Hills for the VV. I’ve bought a case for the last few years but it’s all crickets now from retailers. Where is it all going? I was graciously offered 1 bottle from one retailer, (after reductions from 6 to 2 to 1) I’ll take it I guess and be glad for the taste because it looks like the end of my C. Bouchard journey.
Think there had been some around for $100, but this thread probably helped clear those out. Still some 2018 available here for $105: https://www.vinylwineshop.com/wines/Cedric-Bouchard-Roses-de-Jeanne-Brut-Blanc-de-Noirs-Val-Vilaine-2018-w5289565cu, which just went for $190 (with buyer premium) at auction: https://m.klwines.com/Auction/BidDetail/1588489
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I think it compares pretty favorably with wines in that same price range. unfortunately, it just used to be underpriced and now its probably about right.
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Well thanks!
The pricing on Woodland is interesting. I think they’ve rolled up 2-3 different waves now, all with increasing pricing. I grabbed some Bechalin for $160 (paid $130-140 last year), but at $180, it seems to be sitting. I’m guessing this will look cheap in another 12-24 months, but I have more than enough at this point.
And I may have just picked up the last bottle of the Val Vilaine that VinylWine had.
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