Professionelle Bewertungen
Robert Parker (95)
From a south-facing parcel planted in 1966, Christophe Baron's 2019 Brut Nature Le Dessus du Bois Marie, disgorged in May 2023 without dosage, is showing superbly. It erupts from the glass with a medley of early-blooming white flowers, peach and pear, mingling with tangerine zest and a hint of raspberry. Medium to full-bodied, it is concentrated and pillowy, with ripe but lively acidity, ample underlying tension and a long, chalky finish. Compared to the muscular and expansive 2018 edition, the 2019 displays greater harmony and a sense of completeness. As ever, it hails from a site characterized by shallow soils—just 30 centimeters deep—over solid limestone.
BOW (8.75)
Christophe Baron grew up in the Champagne region and studied viticulture and oenology in Bonn, before moving to the United States in the 1990s, where he has since built his career as a winemaker in Walla Walla, Washington. In 2014, with the help of his cousins, he turned his attention back to France, starting to produce champagne from grapes grown in vineyards inherited from his family. His range includes just four blends from a single vineyard, made entirely from old mass-selected Pinot Meunier in the western Marne Valley, in the villages of Crot sur Marne and Charley sur Marne. Of the four hectares he owns, just over half goes into his own production, with the rest going to family members who bottle wine under the Baron Albert label.
The vineyards have been organically farmed from the outset, albeit without official certification. Baron spends most of his time in the United States, but his family strictly follows his protocols. He prefers to harvest early to preserve freshness.
Pressing, fermentation and vinification are carried out at the family winery. Baron uses both cuvées and premier tailles, ageing the wines in 600-litre barrels, a quarter of which are replaced each year, while the rest are between five and six years old. Fermentation takes place using local yeasts, and malolactic fermentation occurs naturally. He stirs the lees about once a week until the end of January — in his opinion, this reduces the need for dosage — after which the wines are aged for about eight months on the lees in barrels.
All four wines are vintage dated, bottled exclusively in magnums and disgorged without dosage, which Baron considers necessary to express the individuality and character of each plot.
The result is a set of remarkable, complex champagnes — serious in structure and tension — that are well worth trying.
Owen Bargreen (97)
Showing its vibrant pink hue in the glass, entirely comprised from Pinot Meunier grapes, the 2019 Champagne Christophe Baron ‘Le Dessus Du Bois Marie’ Champagne is a stunning bottling from this warm vintage. Once on the nose this exudes class with its salty tones alongside bright pear and ginger with bright red fruits. The palate is plush and soft with refined structure and a big sense of weight and mouthfeel. Loads of mouth-watering acidity greets you, with stony and salty accents on the palate. Finishing very long, this is super nuanced, and tension-filled bold Pinot Meunier Champagne. The feeling of weight and finesse makes this display some serious aging potential. Try to resist this beauty for another year or two.
