Champagne Bernard Gaucher Brut Réserve NV This pinot noir dominant cuvee is everything we love about the Aube…at a price that makes this beyond spectacular!
Flavor Profile: Yellow plums, croissant dough, golden apples, and fresh cream
Time on Lees: 24 months
Dosage: 10 grams per liter
Why We Love It...
It is extremely challenging to score grower Champagne for less than thirty big ones – especially one that tastes as good as this! The Gaucher folks have set up shop right in the heart of the Côte des Bar, where pinot noir thrives – perhaps better than anywhere else in Champagne.
Third generation grape grower, and first generation recoltant-manipulant (grower producer) Guillaume Gaucher runs the show here. The family vineyards are in Aube, with separate plots near the villages of Arconville, Urville, and Ailleville, east of the city of Troyes. These plots are planted on the region’s famous Kimmeridgian soils, similar to those found in Chablis to the south. Like many of Champagne’s lesser-known villages, the quality of product can vary greatly among these vineyards, but with the right soil, the right farming, and a careful intention – top-notch wine can be the result!
This is just such a find! Guillaume Gaucher had become disheartened by years and decades of the family’s grapes being sold to the massive, lower quality, and bulk-produced Champagne houses like most of their neighbors. As one who grew up working the land and growing the grapes – he just knew that the quality was there to make delicious Champagne. Eventually, he convinced his father to no longer sell the fruit, and become winemakers in their own right. Champagne Bernard Gaucher was born.
Years later, this house is still off the radar of all but the most hardcore bubble monsters (yes, you!) but we love the wines – and have great hopes for their future. A delicate, fruity, and entirely pleasing wine that also hits all the geeky sweet spots. Creamy and pinot-noir-driven fruits with a wonderfully balanced acidity and just the right amount of frothy bubbles…toasty, zesty, and tingly, all in equal measure. The clay and limestone lend pinot the chance to fully ripen, without sacrificing that almost Chablisienne minerality and freshness. An uplifting jolt of some 10% chardonnay further delineates the wine’s mineral spark and helps this sing at a high frequency. Myriad stone fruits – like bright and crunchy yellow plums – plus croissant dough, golden apples, and a creamy, milky aroma that makes us think of rich condensed milk or fresh cream…so good!! As we said, it simply hits all the sweet spots, especially at our price! Two years on the lees allows a nice amount of integration and development, and a Brut dosage of 10 grams per liter heightens the fruitiness of the pinot noir. Fun stuff that you’ll virtually never turn down – a glass or two, a bottle or two – this is one of those bottles that seemingly fits all situations. I’d call it a “master key” Champagne, but you’ll want to call it yours, quick!
Technical Details
Country: France
Region: Champagne
Sub-Region: Côte des Bar
Appellation: Champagne
Varietal: Champagne Blends
Blend: 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay
Winemaker: Guillaume Gaucher
Alcohol: 12%
Pair it with: Caramelized onion tarts
About the Producer
Champagne Bernard Gaucher is a family-owned champagne house located in the village of Mardeuil, in the Champagne region of France. The history of the house dates back to the early 20th century when Bernard Gaucher, the founder, started making champagne from his own vineyards. Today, the house is run by his granddaughter, Sandrine Charpentier, and her husband, Vincent. They continue the family tradition of producing high-quality champagnes using traditional methods, with a focus on sustainable viticulture and respect for the environment. Champagne Bernard Gaucher is known for its elegant and refined champagnes, which are sought after by connoisseurs around the world.
Your daily bubbles
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