Barons de Rothschild Le Bateau 2021
Pale gold colour, with a beautiful crystalline brilliance. The nose, of great purity, blends flowers and the minerality of crumbling chalk, then creamier notes of baked apple, coffee cream and vanilla, lifted by a touch of lemon zest. The palate is direct, lively and very dry, with lemon and salt,…
ALL CHAMPAGNES FROM BARONS DE ROTHSCHILDThe expert verdict
The structure of this champagne
TASTING NOTES
Pale gold colour, with a beautiful crystalline brilliance. The nose, of great purity, blends flowers and the minerality of crumbling chalk, then creamier notes of baked apple, coffee cream and vanilla, lifted by a touch of lemon zest. The palate is direct, lively and very dry, with lemon and salt, lovely breadth and a fine grip. The finish lingers on chalk, fresh spices, Timut pepper and saffron. You can keep it in your cellar until around 2036.
The composition
Terroirs
Le Bateau is a named plot at the entrance to Cramant, a village classified as grand cru in the Côte des Blancs. The Rothschild family's plot, 12.15 ares facing due south, was planted with chardonnay in 1974. With barely 10 cm of brown soil, the vine quickly sends its roots down into the Campanian chalk: this is where the wine draws its tension and precision. Harvested on 21 September 2021, the grapes fermented in three 228-litre oak barrels, with malolactic fermentation completed, and the wine remained there for nine months. It then spent 45 months in bottle before disgorgement, on 23 April 2026. Extra brut, dosed at 2 g/L, 12.5% vol. Limited release of 906 numbered bottles.
About this house
Champagne Barons de Rothschild was born in 2005: for the first time in their history, the family's three branches, those of Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Clarke, came together in a shared estate. Based in Reims, the house has made chardonnay its signature, accounting for over 70% of its grape supply, and favours grand cru and premier cru vineyards, with minimal dosage.
With Les Maladries, Le Bateau opens a collection of single-plot cuvées, following on from the Grand Clos 2019: family vineyards, vinified separately, which the house intends to produce every year. "These cuvées tell our story," sums up Guillaume Lété, cellar master since 2016. Full of power and tension, Le Bateau received 97/100 from James Suckling and 95/100 from World of Fine Wine.
The perfect pairing
Aperitif
Le Bateau's lemon and salt answer the iodine of the oyster, and its 2 g/L dosage leaves full room for the oyster's delicate flesh.
Starter
The sweet flesh of the spiny lobster calls for a wine with character: the chalky tension lifts it, and the creamy notes from the barrel accompany a reduced jus.
Main course
A delicate poultry dish holds its own against this barrel-born wine; the Timut pepper and saffron on the finish pair with the aromas of truffle.
