Description
Henriet-Bazin, Grand Cru Brut Rosé
We lurched to reserve everything allowed to us the moment Henriet-Bazin’s newest Grand Cru Brut Rosé hit our shores last month, and although that only resulted in a few more cases than last year, we couldn’t be happier to unveil this abundantly luxurious release. As we previously exclaimed, Henriet-Bazin’s small-production Grand Cru rosé is one of the richest, most confoundingly delicious bottles on the market, and it comes in at a shockingly low price. Stylistically, it’s for all you André Clouet, Bollinger, and Billecart-Salmon lovers. Price-wise? It’s for everyone.
Henriet-Bazin’s rosé consists of equal parts Pinot Noir/Chardonnay from a micro-selection of naturally farmed parcels within two of Champagne’s most-prized Grand Cru villages—Verzy and Verzenay. Further, the reserve wine blended into this bottle holds a whopping amount of historical significance, as it comes from a perpetual “solera” that first started in 1968! That’s right, over 50 years of history in one bottle of wine, yet the family’s roots go back much further. Founded in 1890 by Gaston Henriet and a few grape-growing neighbors, they became one of the select few farming operations at the time who had the courage and diligence to bottle their very own wines and compete with the heavily-marketed Champagne Houses. They succeeded: This limited Grand Cru rosé outmatches and outclasses many of today’s flourishing Grand Marques. LOAD UP!
As Gaston Henriet and friends continued crafting their wine, they also kept selling part of their crop to the grandes marques in order to temper some of their expensive production costs. Forty diligent, hard-earned years passed and, by 1930, his son Robert was carrying the torch at full speed: He began marketing their brand at Parisian fairs and incrementally held back more of their harvest each year—nearly 50% at this time. After the marriage of Daniel Henriet (Robert’s son) and Micheline Bazin in 1968, the business merged to incorporate both surnames and subsequently, Micheline’s prime vineyard real estate in the Premier Cru village of Villers-Marmery. Since 1991, Daniel’s daughter Marie-Noelle Henriet has represented the fifth generation. She was integral in pushing her father to vinify 100% of their crop, has helped expand their acreage to experiment further with new grapes and terroirs, and implemented even more sustainability measures.
Henriet-Bazin’s Grand Cru rosé is equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Grand Cru villages of Verzy and Verzenay. They only own nine tiny plots in Verzenay (totaling less than two hectares of Pinot Noir and a half hectare of Chardonnay) and use a smattering of Chardonnay from two plots in Verzy (totaling less than one hectare). Marie-Noelle practices sustainable farming and plows the rows between her old vines that were first planted in 1963. After hand harvesting, their grapes are sent into stainless steel tanks where both alcoholic and malolactic fermentation takes place. Roughly 70% of this bottle came from the 2015 harvest with reserve wines (again, from a perpetual wine blend first started in 1968) making up the other 30%. It was bottled in early 2016 and aged on lees until disgorgement in June of 2018, which was accompanied by a dosage of six grams and the addition of 19% still Pinot Noir vinified entirely in-house.
The newest rendition of Henriet-Bazin’s mega-hit Grand Cru rosé once again pours a fascinatingly deep color, although this time around it leans more toward cherry red with slight pink hues. Its darkness instantly reveals what type of rosé this is: a dense, many-layered, complex beauty. Serving around 50-55 degrees in all-purpose stems is the key to unlocking everything there is to offer: Bing cherry wild strawberries, white pear, pomegranate, redcurrant, fresh herbs, wet stones, crushed chalk, and refreshing waves of blood orange and citrus zest. There is a ‘grandness’ to this Champagne that translates to a brilliantly mineral- and fruit-rich palate. For those who are pleasure seekers—this is the rosé for you! Once the final savory sip hits your lips, I bet your eyes start wandering toward your remaining stash. Although Henriet-Bazin is a delicious, rarely-seen Grand Cru rosé, don’t be greedy—invite over a handful of friends and share the vinous wealth!
