The Champagne Society April 2019 Selection: Champagne Bonnaire

Champagne Bonnaire “Rosé” or “Ver Sacrum”
Price for The Champagne Society members: $50

Since 1932 Champagne Bonnaire has been a family-run winery based in the village of Cramant in the heart of the Côte des Blancs. This grower estate really hit its stride in the early 1990s with third-generation winemaker Jean-Louis Bonnaire at the helm. Besides elevating the wines of Bonnaire, he helped boost his wife’s property (Clouet) in the Grand Gru of Bouzy. Now, Champagne Bonnaire, and the elegant, Pinot Noir-based grower wines of Champagne Paul Clouet, are both internationally known.

Today it is the sons of Jean-Louis, Jean-Etienne and Jean-Emmanuel Bonnaire, that are leading the way for Champagne Bonnaire. The estate consists of a little over 50 acres, the majority of which is located in the Côte des Blancs where the Chardonnay vine thrives. Their vineyard parcels lie mainly in the Grand Cru village of Cramant but some plots are located in the neighboring villages of Chouilly and Oiry, both Grand Cru, as well as the Premier Cru villages of Cuis and Bergeres-Les-Vertus. The source of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier come from part of the estate that extends into the Marne Valley.

Given the small production of Champagne Bonnaire we do not have enough of one single cuvée for all of our Champagne Society Members but we still wanted to share these exciting wines with you. You will have a choice of either the “Rosé” or “Ver Sacrum” as long as both are available.

Champagne Bonnaire “Rosé”

Bonnaire’s “Rosé” is an assemblage of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir. A portion of the Pinot Noir (12%) is added in the form of Coteaux Champenois, a still, red wine. The fruit comes from four villages: Cramant, Cuis, Bergère-les-Vertus, and Fossoy. The wine ages on the lees for a minimum of three years and sees a dosage of 8 grams/liter. Berries, flowers and minerals are woven together seamlessly. The light tannin from the Coteaux Champenois provides the structure to pair nicely with almost any food.

Champagne Bonnaire “Ver Sacrum”

“Ver Sacrum” is a 100% Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs. The fruit comes from the Grand Cru village of Cramant and the Premier Cru village of Bergère-les-Vertus, both recognized for the highest quality of Chardonnay. The wine ages on the lees for a minimum of five years and sees a dosage of 6 grams/liter. A richer, more ample Blanc de Blancs, it harmonizes finesse and generosity with a low dosage that reinforces its sense of purity. “Ver Sacrum” (The Sacred Spring) is a nod to the Viennese youth movement of the early 1900s that breathed new life into the artistic and cultural world of its time without ignoring the legacy of the past. The Vienna Secession, as it was called, was led by notable artists like Gustav Klimt and Rainer Maria Rilke.

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Posted on 2019.04.01 in France, The Champagne Society, Champagne