Location and History
Champagne Cédric Bouchard is based in Celles-sur-Ource in the Côte des Bar area of the Champagne in France. Cédric Bouchard founded the winery Roses de Jeanne in 2000 after his return to Celles-sur-Ource. Initially, the two designations Roses de Jeanne were for wines made from the estate’s own parcels and Inflorescence for wines from the vineyards of his father. After taking over these vineyards, Inflorescence was discontinued; further bottlings appeared under Roses de Jeanne.
Parcels and Grape Varieties
The wines are made as Champagne from individual parcels, grape varieties and vintages rather than as conventional cuvées. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc are documented. La Bolorée is a Blanc de Blancs made from Pinot Blanc from a small parcel near Celles-sur-Ource, facing south. La Haute-Lemblée is produced from Chardonnay, Les Ursules and Côte de Val Vilaine from Pinot Noir. Documented soils include Kimmeridgian limestone marl at Les Ursules and Côte de Béchalin, as well as sandy loam over chalk at La Bolorée.
Farming and Maturation
The vineyards are farmed organically, with limited yields forming part of the production approach. The wines ferment and mature in stainless-steel vessels; for individual cuvées, the use of indigenous yeasts is documented. Bottling takes place without fining and filtration, and cold stabilisation is also omitted.
Style and Examples
The Champagnes are generally released without dosage. Le Creux d'Enfer is documented as a steeply sloping site, from which a small-produced rosé is made using the saignée method. The tirage results in a bottling pressure of about 4 to 4.5 bar and is therefore below the conventional pressure of roughly 6 bar for Champagne.
