Champagne Paul Bara 2014 Special Club Champagne 750ml

2014: Like all of Paul Bara’s releases, Pinot Noir is the back-bone of their Special Club. Production is strictly old-school, with only free run and first press juice used, fermentation in small cement tanks, and aging and riddling in cold, extremely deep cellars for several years. Nothing is released until ready.
Each year, the Special Club represents the pinnacle of the Bara process and style. Superlatives seem to be insufficient when describing the experience of savoring a glass of this Champagne. It simply has it all—refined hazel-nutty, toasty notes, bright acidity, some of the most delicate bubbles ever created, and a finish that lasts and lasts (sometimes longer than the bottle does).

-- Clark Terry, kermitlynch.com

2015: The 2015 Special Club is one of the more powerful, vinous Champagnes in this range. It offers up a beguiling mix of orchard fruit, white flowers, chalk, mint and white pepper, all backed by considerable volume and substance. Another year or two in bottle should help this find even better balance. It’s a fine 2015. Disgorged: February, 2021.

Score: 94 points -- Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 2022

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The Bara property was built in 1860. In the beginning, it was a farm with stables, a cow shed, a sheep pen and a cellar; however, in 1965, the barn was transformed into a press room and a winery. Paul Bara, the father of today's owner Chantale, was the first of the dynasty to sell champagne under the brand of the same name in the 1950s. Chantale recalls how this man of character and conviction would often say: ‘We must keep hold of the fields to feed us’. He also wrote a very interesting book retracing the story of his 'beloved' village of Bouzy, its people and their wines and culture.  In 1975, the Bara champagne house innovatively became one of the first to export its champagnes to the United States. Today, the brand has a long-standing tradition of transatlantic sales and continues to work with the same US importer as back in the day. Nowadays Paul Bara champagnes are sold on all continents of the world. In 1980, Chantale began assisting her father and soon after, in 1986, began co-running the business. The 6th generation, she gets on with excellency by being a partner and also President during 4 years of the Club Trésors de Champagne and by intiating in 2013 a major programme of renovation of the winery to enhance its winemaking capacity and precision.