Champagne Paul Bara

Champagne Paul Bara has been at Bouzy, east of Épernay in the Marne, since 1833. Seven generations have worked the same eleven hectares, all of it rated Grand Cru: nine and a half hectares of Pinot Noir on the top and middle of the slope, and a hectare and a half of Chardonnay on the lower ground nearer the village. The house is managed today by Chantal Bara, and Christian Forget makes the wines.

Those vineyard sites have been courted for years by much larger houses. Rather than expand, Bara has stayed with the same parcels and pushed quality instead: very low yields, hand harvesting, and whole-bunch pressing in small wooden and electric presses using only the heart of the pressing.

Each plot is fermented separately in stainless steel and malolactic is avoided on everything except the Bouzy rouge. The non-vintage cuvées carry up to half reserve wine and are dosed at around 7 g/L; only the Annonciade sees six months in barrel before ten years on lees, and it is dosed lower at 5 g/L. Vines are planted at 10,000 to the hectare and production is about 7,500 dozen. The estate is certified HVE3 and Vin Durable en Champagne.