Winemaker Notes
The quintessence of the Barons de Rothschild style. The tiny production receives the same meticulous care as that lavished on the Rothschild Family’s most prestigious Grands Vins.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Barons de Rothschild's prestige cuvée is focused entirely on the maison's favoured Côte des Blancs, unfolding in the crisp, approachable and serene 2014 vintage with layered, classical maturing Chardonnay characters of dried lemon, roasted pineapple, nuts in honey and sweet tart pastry. This is all presented on a gliding, smooth palate with a fine sense of the sort of driving intensity possible in the grand cru villages of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cramant, Avize and Oger. Nevertheless it's not an imposing or difficult new release, but rather fragrant and giving (compared, at least, to the more chiselled 2013), despite an evident capacity for further development.
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James Suckling
This has attractive aromas of orange blossoms, honey, toast, walnuts and grapefruit. It’s silky and voluptuous on the palate, with very fine bubbles and a long, lightly honeyed and delicious finish. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Rare Collection Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay, sourced from four villages (Avize, Cramant, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger), and reveals a delicate, perfumed bouquet of ripe orchard fruits, almonds, lemon oil and spices. Medium to full-bodied, delicate and vinous, it's broad and dense with a fleshy core of fruit and a delicate, ethereal mousse. Matured for eight years on the lees, followed by 12 months after disgorgement, this rendition perfectly captures the house style.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’