NV Paul Bara Rose Brut Grand Cru Half Bottle (375 mL) Half-Bottle

“We must keep hold of the fields that feed us.”

That’s what Chantale Bara, director of Champagne Paul Bara, remembers her father Paul saying about their vineyards that supply the stunning Brut Rosé Grand Cru Champagne. Established in Bouzy in 1833, Champagne Paul Bara has become synonymous with its region, as they’re one of the top tier top récoltant-manipulant (or “grower”) Champagnes of the area.

Although the house’s namesake passed away in 2015, his work lives on in every bottle they produce on their antique bottling machine, which can fill just one bottle at a time—a striking anomaly in an area dominated by massive Champagne houses. And that hand-crafted quality shines through in every sip of this stunning rosé.

Showing a stunning pale salmon color, the wine is restrained but enticingly complex, with aromas of white raspberry, strawberry preserves, quince, biscuit, lilac, chalk, and pastry dough. It’s linear on the palate, mineral laden, and mouthwatering, with a super long and satisfying mineral finish.

Champagne Paul Bara follows the ethos of lutte raisonnée, which means “the reasoned struggle” and translates to minimal intervention in the vineyard. Grown in the deep clay and limestone soils of the Grand Cru villages of Bouzy. Direct-pressed, aged four years on the lees, and dosed perfectly with eight grams of sugar per liter, it’s a hand-crafted expression of what makes Bouzy and the Montagne de Reims so special.