Those who love elite Grower Champagne know that getting your hands on Chartogne-Taillet’s rarefied “Les Barres” is always a thrilling, if infrequent, occasion. Case in point: I’ve only had it a few times in my life. But today’s extra-special offer is not the classic white label I’m accustomed to. No, this “Les Barres” is a bit different—even rarer, more elusive. Behind this black label lies pure, vinous, supernatural energy. And yet, I (along with the rest of the world) had no idea Selosse protégé, Alexandre Chartogne, was secretly crafting this project.
Since his “Les Barres” debut back in 2006, this hard-to-find micro-bottling has come from a tiny .5-hectare patch of ancient,
ungrafted (original rootstock) Meunier vines, which instantly places it in the 99.9 percentile of rarity. What many didn’t know was that within “Les Barres,” Alexandre has a sliver of ungrafted Pinot Noir vines and for the first time ever in 2015 he decided to bottle it separately. But because the annual crop is so diminutive, he had to combine four years’ worth of vintages in order to have enough for a small release. The surprise reveal caused the jaws of Champagne connoisseurs to hit the floor. Accordingly, we had to purchase this extremely limited variation of “Les Barres” while it was still on the water because had we waited, there wouldn’t have been anything left. Upon opening a bottle last week, we were handsomely rewarded: Deep, vinous, and mineral-rich, this is an immensely profound Champagne that deserves a prominent spot in your collection. Only 84 bottles are available.
When Alexandre Chartogne took over his family’s 300+-year-old grape growing operation in 2006, he had mightily big shoes to fill, but he came well prepared: Having learned directly alongside cult Champagne legend Anselme Selosse (whom he calls his ‘wine father’), natural farming, terroir specificity, and minimalist yet masterful winemaking were fresh on his mind. That’s why he chose his first-ever bottle of Chartogne-Taillet to come from the micro-parcel of “Les Barres” in the historic village of Merfy. This is among the greatest slice of vines in all of Champagne and extracting a pure, one-with-nature Pinot Noir from it is a transcendental experience. If I had to nitpick one thing about today’s special offer, it would be that this is the very first Chartogne-Taillet champagne we’ve ever rolled out—meaning, we’ve leapfrogged all their other impressive wines. But, I assure you after one taste of “Les Barres,” you’ll forever commit Chartogne-Taillet to memory and constantly seek out their entire lineup.
In the vineyard, Alexandre farms with an all-natural mindset and while he has always avoided any type of “-cide” since day one, he has slowly been removing all mechanization from his soils. Plowing is done by horse and his vines never experience the cold touch of metal—only hands. After manually harvesting his microscopic Pinot Noir crop in 2015 (an exceptional vintage in which Pinot Noir thrived), the grapes were pressed and allowed an ambient fermentation, including malolactic, over a nine-month period in neutral French barrels. Following, the ‘15 base wine was blended with his “Les Barres” Pinot Noir reserves from 2014, 2013, and 2012. It was then transferred into bottle sans filtration, where it aged on lees for nearly 36 months. The final product was disgorged in June of 2019 with a judicious dosage of four grams, qualifying it as an extra-brut.
I really wish I could drink more of this but because quantities are so painfully limited, it doesn’t make sense to selfishly hoard a case. So, for those lucky enough to score a couple of bottles, I ask you to give them proper care: (1) avoid Champagne flutes at all costs and pull out either all-purpose or Burgundy stems; (2) enjoy around 50-55 degrees, any colder will mute all of its nuanced aromatics; (3) try to make a bottle stretch as long as possible because, for me, it had a spectacular evolution over the course of five hours. I’ve talked about “intelligent” Champagnes before and I would immediately put “Les Barres” into that category. Its aromatics are incredibly sublime, revealing seductive notes of ripe red and yellow apples, currants, cherry pit, brioche, crushed chalk, Meyer lemon, gardenia, damp rose petal, and toasted nuts. The palate is full, broad, and wonderfully layered with notes of spice, fruit, and pulverized minerals. Just allow yourself to slowly savor each nuanced flavor and between sips, give thanks to the monks that discovered sparkling wine centuries ago, as well as those, like Chartogne-Taillet, that have perfected it. Rarity aside, Alexandre has delivered a stunning Champagne that will dazzle throughout the next decade and beyond. Enjoy.
