2005 Francis Boulard Champagne Les Rachais Rosé

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 95.7 points

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  10/4/2023 - Benoit Hardy Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Beautiful orange color that turns into an evolved Bordeaux.
  
  Nose on autolysis, assumed vinosity, oxidative touch.
  
  Burgundian-style palate but rather Pommard. There is a somewhat gruff teddy bear side to anyone who knew Francis Boulard. The juice smacks in the mouth before wisely untying on complex aromas such as strawberry, smoke, sweet spices, cocoa and espresso. The juice has a dry side but which integrates well with the whole. Nice balance, the wine is far from tired. I clearly prefer it to the 2009 drunk a few years ago and which disappointed me. Nice finish on the mocha and a winey length that stretches quietly.
  
  Excellent and surprising bleeding rosé

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  10/31/2015 - forceberry wrote: 97 Points

  A biodynamic rosé Champagne from two vineyards. Macerated with the skins for 12 hours. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Aged sur lie in old oak barrels before bottling. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, aged in the bottles on the lees for seven years. Disgorged in 30th of April, 2014. Dosage 2 g/l. Total production 1954 bottles.
  
  Pale cranberry to moderately deep orange color with a slightest touch of developed maroon hue. Robust, ridiculously complex, somewhat Burgundian and ever so slightly funky nose with incredible array of aromas: toffee, ripe red cherries, autolytic brioche notes, some oxidative nuttiness, a little bit of Russian candy, light notes of chocolate chips, a hint of Chinotto zest and a touch of sappy greenness. The wine is bone-dry yet remarkably rich and full-bodied on the palate with vibrant flavors of ripe black cherries, earthy spices, cacao nibs, chalky mineral bitterness, autolytic toast, some savory oak spice tones, a little bit of strawberry sweetness, hints of espresso and dark-toned mocha oak and touch of oxidative nutty character. The wine is very structured with high acidity and the slightest touch of tannic grip. The fine mousse feels soft and creamy. The finish is rich, spice and very long with complex, bone-dry flavors of cherries, earthy Pinosity, some dark-toned oak spice, a little bit of developed nutty character, light brambly notes of raspberries, a hint of chalky minerality and a touch of caramel.
  
  Consistent with my previous tasting notes: this is a stunning rosé bubbly by all accounts, blurring the boundaries between Burgundy Pinot Noir and rosé Champagne. Still one of the greatest Champagnes I've ever tasted. I can see this one still keeping for a long time in a cellar. Very highly recommended - getting a sparkling rosé better than this can be quite an arduous task.

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  8/22/2014 - forceberry wrote: 97 Points

  A biodynamic rosé Champagne from two vineyards. Macerated with the skins for 12 hours. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Aged sur lie in old oak barrels before bottling. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, aged in the bottles on the lees for seven years. Disgorged in 30th of April, 2014. Dosage 2 g/l. Total production 1954 bottles.
  
  Deep peach orange color with the slightest touch of nutty maroon - remarkably more concentrated color than that of Boulard's basic-level rosé. Incredible, very expressive, super-toasty nose with a lot of wild, funky aromas of pickly brine, Campari-ish notes of chinotto orange, some herbal greenness, a little leather, hints of spicy Pinosity and a touch of cherry pastry with a delicate, sweet undercurrent of burnt sugar. Bone-dry, structured and rather full-bodied in the mouth with very intense flavors of autolytic nutty toast, pronounced chalky minerality, lots of earthy spice, tart lingonberry fruit, lighter hints of ripe raspberry and wild hints of orange peel and aromatic herbs. Very pronounced acidity. Extremely soft, gentle and delicate mousse, giving the mouthfeel a creamy texture. Really fresh, structured finish with pronounced notes of minerality, lemony citrus fruits, smoke, some nuttiness and a hint of fluoride paste. The mouth-puckering aftertaste is very intense, complex and persistent.
  
  This wine is incredibly complex, structured and most of all, unique terroir-driven grower Champagne. Definitely a wine to be enjoyed on its own - it has a lot of structure to be paired with different kinds of dishes, but a wine of this character should be enjoyed on its own, so all its depth and complexity can be enjoyed fully. Enjoy from large-bowl stemware that lets the wine express its character fully. Extremely cellarworthy stuff. One of the greatest rosé bubblies I have ever tasted; if this isn't close to perfection, I don't know what is.

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