TN: 2014 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

• 2014 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine - France, Champagne (4/28/2019)
  With fond memories of the '13 lurking in my head, I popped this one last night. It isn’t quite at the heights of the '13 right now, it’s edgier, leaner at the moment. Still, terrific minerality, acidity, and crisp white fruit with rounder bready notes. These wines walk a terrific balance of creamy texture and wiry edge. This will be even better in a few years. Love the stuff.

Posted from CellarTracker

This bottling seems to get better and better every year. That’s true of all Cédric’s wines, but this cuvée advances so fast I sometimes feel it’s closing the qualitative gap with the rare wines he produces, the difference increasingly being one of character as much as quality.

Every once in a while I buy a few of the special cuvees, then I remember how many bottles I could have bought of the Val Vilaine.

Good to know. I’ve never gone beyond the Vilaine. Though, I have Been eyeing some Ursules and Presle lately. But this one does so well, I don’t have fomo.

Fantastic wines and rising prices.

I need to re-load, if possible. I buy 'em and drink 'em.

Yeah…thanks to too many threads like this.

If you were going to reload ‘14 - ‘16, is there one or two you prefer? I try very hard to let these get some minimal age, so the most recent I’ve opened is a ‘13.

I really like '13. Really. I’d take it over '14 1nd '15.
That doesn’t answer your question, in true Berserker fashion.
If only there was more 13s around.

Agree with the sentiment on the thread that the more limited wines really aren’t worth it. I haven’t had all of them, but I’ve had a couple (Bechalin and Haute-Lemble), and while they were good, they were not better than the Val Vilaine.

Ursules is a step up in complexity from the Val Vilaine. I’ve yet to be impressed with Bechalin, Presle, or Haut lemblee.

Boloree is intellectual but less seductive.

The Rose Creux d’Enfers is stunning though.

And Ursules is not so crazy expensive. Haut Lemblee is interesting, but other producers make better non-traditional grape Champagnes IMO.

Last summer, when heading out to our friends’ boat, I grabbed a bottle of what I thought was the Val Vilaine. Once there, I opened the bottle, and as I’m pouring, I see it’s Ursules. The labels are the same dark gray that it is difficult to see any difference. I can’t say I liked it any more than Val Vilaine, and too confusing with the similar labels.

I don’t love the labels. Gray on black is almost impossible to read in low-light situations.

My favorite so far has been the Ursules, seems like a step up from the Val Vilaine. But I’ve enjoyed both and have been buying across the range. Would be great to do a horizontal at some point, I’ve never had the opportunity to to a side-by-side tasting.

Somehow I missed the ‘13s though .

I have some 04/05/06 that I need to check in on at some point soon, they were called inflorescence I believe back then. A few years ago when I checked in I think the 04 was much more lively than the 05.

Lemblee is 100% chard. Maybe thinking Bolorée?

Agreed. Ursules is a better wine. We’ve done the side by side the last few vintages.

Yes, my mistake.

Ursules $ pushes into Dom, almost NV Krug territory. That good? Serious question.