Champagne Paul Bara

The Bara family has been growing wine in Bouzy since 1833. At first they sold the grapes to the Négoce, but in 1929 they joined the Bouzy cooperative – one of the first in Champagne. After the Second World War, Paul Bara started making his own champagne. Today, Paul has retired and the winery is now in the hands of daughter Chantale Bara.

All of the Bara family’s parcels are in the Grand Cru of Bouzy, 9.5 hectares of Pinot Noir and 1.5 hectares of Chardonnay. Many of the plots are relatively old, the vines have an average age of 35 to 40 years. The wines are vinified in stainless steel and tiled tanks, malolactic fermentation has been strictly avoided since 1990 in order to preserve the character and lightness of the wines.

The wine cellars are a special feature: Since the smaller part of the cellars dates back to the time when the house was built around 1860, they were later expanded to their current capacity. Here you will find many small tanks lined with tiles or glass, which are used to store reserve wines. This allows Bara to draw on a variety of reserve wines from different parcels and vintages for production. All parcels are pressed and bottled separately.

Paul Bara’s champagnes are classic representatives for Bouzy: full-bodied, fruity and vinous – thanks to the Pinot Noir grown on the warm southern slopes of the site. At the same time, the wines show an unusual precision and finesse. Despite the lack of malolactic fermentation, the champagnes are in no way aggressive. The champagnes are velvety, profound and integrate all components excellently.

Paul Bara’s signature is to use between 10-20% Chardonnay for the different cuvées for freshness and elegance and to blend this with 80-90% Pinot Noir.

In addition to the champagnes, Bara is also known for his Bouzy Rouge, a red wine made from vines over 50 years old that matures very slowly and is released unusually late.