Les Hautes Blanches Vignes
Professional reviews and tasting notes from prior vintages added as published. Scores within parentheses indicate barrel samples:
2019 Les Hautes Blanches Vignes
96 Points
A masterful Champagne made in a warm vintage... Bright and intense aromatics of guava and pastry crust greet you alongside suggestions of ripe melon fruits. The palate shows a soft mousse and a silky texture with plenty of stony minerality and tension. Showing excellent length, this bottling really needs another year of bottle age — but you can see the incredible potential. –Owen Bargreen, owenbargreen.com
93 Points
One of several Champagnes from Christophe Baron composed entirely of Pinot Meunier, the 2019 Champagne Les Hautes Blanches Vignes Brut Nature is sourced from vines planted in 1969 in the village
of Charly-sur-Marne and translates as "the white vines from above." It pours a bright straw hue and is ripe with aromas of orange oil, tarry earth, red raspberry, and savory thyme. Medium-bodied, the palate is pithy and herbaceous, with a chalky texture and a zesty mousse. A lively, savory wine with a linear feel, it's prime for mid-term enjoyment over the next 8-10 years. –Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com
2018 Les Hautes Blanches Vignes
97 Points
Seriously impressive in this warm vintage... On the nose there are toasty marzipan and nutmeg tones that combine with suggestions of cantaloupe and guava, giving this an exotic edge. The palate is deep and rich with a silky texture and very refined mousse upon entry. Finishing long with bright citrus fruits and copious minerals, this is a dashing, deep Champagne with loads of aging potential... –Owen Bargreen, owenbargreen.com
96 Points
This has beautiful notes of pastries, lemons, kumquats, chamomile, cheese puffs and caraway seeds. It’s medium-bodied, fragrant and textured, with very fine bubbles and delicious salty pastry character. Fantastic tension and length. 100% pinot meunier. From organically grown grapes. In magnums only. Disgorged April 2022. Zero dosage. Drink or hold. –James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
95 Points
The 2018 Brut Nature Les Hautes Blanches Vignes (Magnum) is powerful and full of Meunier character shaped by the natural warmth of this mid-slope parcel. Dried pear, cinnamon, ginger and dried flower all grace this rich yet finely cut Champagne from Christophe Baron. Bright saline notes punctuate the expressive finish. –Antonio Galloni, Vinous
92 Points
Pouring a deeper straw-copper hue compared to the 2019, the 2018 Champagne Les Hautes Blanches Vignes Brut Nature is forward with a perfume of honeycomb, marzipan, redcurrant, and wet asphalt. Though it remains medium in its frame, it takes on a good deal of extract for the vintage, with notes of grapefruit pith, a pinpoint mousse, a long, driving core of acidity, and notes of bitter almond on the finish. Long and savory on the finish, it’s a well-styled Meunier to enjoy over the coming 8-10 years. –Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com
2017 Les Hautes Blanches Vignes
96 Points
Deeply yellow with a gorgeous bouquet, the 2017 Les Hauts Blanches Champagne comes from a very low-yielding crop in this vintage. Bergamot and marzipan tones dance on with honeydew melon on the nose. The palate is rich and concentrated with a silky mousse and seamless experience mid-palate. Finishing exceedingly long this is generous, gratifying Pinot Meunier champagne that has some serious cellaring potential. Give this about 30 minutes of air to take in the full range of flavors and aromatics. –Owen Bargreen, owenbargreen.com
95 Points
The 2017 Brut Nature Les Hautes Blanches Vignes (Magnum) is a rich, burnished wine. Deep in color and intensity from tiny yields, the Hautes Blanches is a rich Champagne endowed with notable textural breadth and energy. Orange peel, hazelnut, dried flowers, chamomile, tangerine oil and light oxidative notes build in this powerhouse Meunier. The red fruit character of Meunier is so expressive. This is an especially vinous style, even for Christophe Baron. The Hautes Blanches Vignes is just as much wine as it is Champagne. –Antonio Galloni, Vinous
94 Points
The richest, most generous iteration of this bottling to date, Baron's 2017 Brut Nature Les Hautes Blanches Vignes bursts with aromas of golden orchard fruit, honeycomb, fresh bread, walnuts and dried white flowers. Full-bodied, fleshy and vinous, it's a touch more oxidative in profile than its more tightly wound predecessors, delivering a generous core of fruit, complemented by a pinpoint mousse, and concluding with a sapid finish. These characteristics make it the most immediately delicious rendition of Les Hautes Blanches Vignes to date, but they're also likely to render it one of the less long-lived iterations of this cuvée. –William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
2016 Les Hautes Blanches Vignes
97 Points
The 2016 Brut Nature Les Hautes Blanches Vignes (Magnum) is a deep, powerful, vinous wine. Meunier screams with character. Dried pear, spice, menthol, kirsch, Mirabelle plum and hazelnut soar out of the glass. Crystalline and exotically beautiful, with mesmerizing aromatics, the Hautes Blanches Vignes is incredibly distinctive and full of personality. The purity of the flavor is just breathtaking. This is such a gorgeous wine. Wow! –Antonio Galloni, Vinous
95 Points
...showing beautifully, wafting from the glass with notes of ripe apples, pear, baking spices and peach. Full-bodied, fleshy and vinous, it's a rich and textural wine, girdled by tangy acids and concluding with a long, delicately honeyed finish. –William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
2015 Les Hautes Blanches Vignes
95 Points
Full-bodied, vinous and enveloping, its satiny attack segues into an ample but beautifully defined mid-palate, displaying pristine balance... this terrific Champagne concludes with a saline and precise finish. –William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
94 Points
Christophe Baron's 2015 Brut Nature Les Hautes Blanches Vignes (Magnum) is bright, punchy and full of character. Orchard fruit, white pepper, sage and mint are some of the many notes that race out of the glass in a cool, nervy Champagne that is super-expressive today. The more taut, crystalline side of Meunier really comes through. At times, the savory quality is a bit pronounced, which is common with 2015s, and yet all the elements remain very nicely balanced. –Antonio Galloni, Vinous
2014 Les Hautes Blanches Vignes
96 Points
The 2014 Brut Nature Les Hautes Blanches Vignes is the first wine I have tasted from Christophe Baron’s new project in Champagne, and it is magnificent. From a tiny parcel measuring just 0.6 hectares (1.48 acres), Les Hautes Blanches Vignes is 100% Pinot Meunier from vines planted in 1969 with a massale selection that was common at the time. Bright, focused and chiseled, the Hautes Blanches Vignes has a level of energy and tension that is simply unreal. Pure Meunier Champagnes have gained in popularity in recent years, but rarely have I seen this degree of focus and vibrancy. Moreover, I am just blown away by the wine’s textural elegance and persistence. All the elements come together in an extraordinary Champagne that drips with class...If the debut release is any indication, Champagne Christophe Baron has a very bright future. The 2014 Les Hautes Blanches Vignes is off the charts great. Don’t miss it! Drink 2020-2030 –Antonio Galloni, Vinous