The Paul Bara house started as negociants, selling wine under the name beginning in the 1950s. Things changed quickly, and for the better, when Paul obtained the winery’s property in 1960. It was essentially a farm with stables, a cow shed, pens, and a barn, but also had a century-old cellar, dug more than 30 feet deep in the earth – with the perfect humidity and temperature consistency to age fine wines. Within five years, the barn had been transformed into a press room and proper winery, and the cellar converted to bottle and barrel storage – and the Bara family never looked back. In the mid-1970s, the house made a decision that we all can be forever grateful for: becoming one of the very first Champagne houses to export its Champagnes to the United States!

Being in the villages of Bouzy and Ambonnay, Paul Bara hangs its hat on the voluptuous pinot noir grape. About 85% of its holdings are in pinot noir, while the balance is in chardonnay. But this vintage cuvee is all pinot all the time. And it’s stunning. The 2014 vintage had lots of rain, but good acid and very good ripeness all around. Also, the yields were high due to the abundant rains. Overall, it is a rather satisfying vintage – of a quality enough for Paul Bara to make a fantastic Comtesse Marie de France Brut Millésimé.

For this Millésime 2014 release, the fruit – as ever – hails exclusively from the Paul Bara Grand Cru holdings on their estate. The age of the vines is some 40-50 years on average, with roughly 11 hectares planted, on a mix of clay and limestone soils. The blend for this cuvee is 100% pinot noir, aged for a spectacular 9+ years on the lees before disgorgement in January of 2024. Expect your initial aromas to be light, bright, and minerally with small red fruit sensations of wild strawberries, cherries, and raspberries, then golden apples, peaches, lychee, mandarin orange, a crack of pink peppercorn, and a woodsy Bergamot character, all brooding and immaculately structured. The final result is fresh, and zippy…for now at least. There is a sense that this wine will fill out and deepen considerably over time, as vintage Paul Bara Champagnes are wont to do. 

Sadly, only 3500 bottles were made. Bad news time, my friend – there is not nearly enough to go around…a paltry 10 cases, I’m afraid! This will absolutely move off our shelves quickly, so waste no time in securing a couple bottles of this – as I’m quite certain our industry specialists are already on the move!