Robert Dufour Champagne Ballad of the Villages 2004
Producer: Robert Dufour
Country: France
Region: Champagne
Grape: Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc
Year: 2004
Farming: Organic
Robert Dufour is the father of Charles Dufour, the expressive and talented Champenois taking the region by storm of late with his thought provoking and complex wines.
This is a vintage champagne that is a story on not just the house but a sentimental look at Charles' evolution as a producer in the region. It's the significant dates that make the back story, 2004 was the first vintage for Charles working with his father before in time taking over the family holdings, the wine was then disgorged in 2022, the year of Robert's passing, an astounding 17 years ageing sur-lattes. To simply pass this off as a curio is to completely miss the nuance and the beauty of such a wine.
This is a a blend of Pinot Noir and the little used but permissible Pinot Blanc, as the cuvee name suggests, from around the villages in which they work. The Pinot Noir comes from Landreville, Chervey, Neuville sur Seine and the Pinot Blanc from Celles sur Ources (Champ du Clos plot).
Nose of butter scotch, toffee, oxidative notes of honey and baked apple. The palate is refined with orchard fruits gently braced by golden apple skin acidity. Depth and concentration from such a lengthy ageing on lees, yet remains poised with detail and levity. Complex and long on the finish, this is a remarkable and highly unique wine from a father that was completed by his son.