Their superbly sited vineyard sites have over the years been sought after by many of the top Champagne houses, and while many other producers have been busily expanding, Paul Bara have remained producing the highest quality possible from these same 11 hectares for seven generations. Now managed by Chantal Bara, the beliefs and methods remain true to previous generations, producing very low yields of the best possible grapes from these superb vineyard sites. The great art in the champagnes of Paul Bara remains the same as it always has, it is the stunning purity and depth of 100% Grand cru Bouzy fruit maintained with finesse and balance that is achieved by using such a high percentage of Pinot Noir in the blend.

Whilst the region of Burgundy has enjoyed a huge revival of its fortunes in the past 3 decades as a result of the surge in quality coming from the small growers who are now estate bottling, Champagne is also now seeing a similar surge of interest in small high quality grower champagnes. In Burgundy the best sites for each variety are well researched and have proven their capacity to produce wines of a certain quality level for centuries. Similarly in the Champagne region, the best sites of land are rated and the prices of grapes that can be achieved from those sites will depend on the rating of each site. Bouzy is one of the few villages rated 100% Grand cru and these champagnes come from those superbly sited vineyards.

The non vintage cuvee (which includes about 20% of Chardonnay grapes from Bouzy) is also distinguished by its finesse and delicacy whilst retaining a remarkable smoothness and it is well recognised as being of a quality level that surpasses that of the Grande Marque producers of Champagne without the same lofty prices.

Coming from an area that is well recognised for the very high quality of its Pinot Noir one would expect that the Rose champagne would perform quite strongly asindeed it does. This champagne has the addition of 12% of Bouzy red wine to add to its fresh vibrant rose colour and to give an extra dimension of fine fresh red fruits to the delicate perfume. Dosage for all cuvee’s here is in the range of 7-8 grams/litre.