Cedric Bouchard, La Haute Lemblee, Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature [2021]

Cédric Bouchard has become one of Champagne’s most influential grower-producers, celebrated for an uncompromising philosophy built around purity, precision, and place. Working in the Aube under his Roses de Jeanne label, Bouchard produces only single-vineyard, single-variety, single-vintage Champagnes—each meant to express its origin with absolute clarity. Yields are among the lowest in the region, all farming is organic, and the cellar is intentionally minimalist: no dosage, no chaptalization, no oak, no fining, no cold stabilization. What remains is Champagne in its most elemental form.

La Haute Lemblée is one of Bouchard’s rarest cuvées and a standout example of his philosophy. Sourced from an old-vine Chardonnay parcel in Celles-sur-Ource, it offers an entirely different facet of his style—tense, mineral, and almost Burgundian in its depth. The wine’s ultra-fine mousse and textural delicacy highlight its precision, while its layered citrus, white-peach, and chalk-driven profile make it one of the most compelling Blanc de Blancs in the region.

As with all of Bouchard’s wines, quantities are painfully limited. La Haute Lemblée is produced in tiny volumes (.12 ha!) and sought after by collectors and Champagne purists alike, prized for its purity, finesse, and quiet power.