2005 Blanc de Blancs La Haute Lemblé

The hand-crafted Champagnes of Cedric Bouchard remain some of the most fascinating wines to emerge from the region. I have been drinking last year's releases over this past year and the wines have never failed to deliver immense pleasure. All of the Bouchard wines are made in a strictly non-interventionalist method. The organic vineyards are farmed to very low yields. The fruit is hand-harvested and the grapes are crushed by foot and fermented with indigenous yeasts. The wines are aged in stainless steel and are bottled unfined and unfiltered with no dosage. The estate offers two ranges; the Inflorescence wines are made from vineyards owned by Bouchard's father, while the Rosés de Jeanne wines are made from Bouchard's own vines. These remain some of the most vivid, eloquent Champagnes readers are likely to come across and I can't recommend them highly enough. Readers should note that the US bottles of these wines do not carry vintage, lieu-dit or disgorgement date information, as that space on the bottles is taken up by the importers' labels. I am told this situation will be resolved by next year, but in the meantime, readers seeking these wines should consult their merchant to make sure they are indeed receiving the current releases.