Home › Wine Notes › Charles Clément
Charles Clément, Brut Rosé (NV)
Sparkling roséFranceNV
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-02-15 · Published 2026-09-21 · Updated 2026-09-21
At a glance
In one line
4.0/5 — higher than Vivino's 3.9 average · world avg price US$35 · A cooperative house founded in 1956 by 22 growers in the Côte des Bar, Aube — the same "forgotten" southern edge of Champagne whose exclusion helped trigger the 1911 riots.
No published critic scores are listed on Vivino. Wine Enthusiast has reviewed another Charles Clément rosé (labeled "Cuvée des Vignerons"), but I could not confirm it's the same product as this bottle, so I'm not citing it here.
Market note: US$35 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026)
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“… 기포는 적당함 머금었을 때 부드러운 느낌. 떼루아에서 … 판매중입니다. 가성비 좋아요.”
Show original
“strawberry citrus apple blossoms apple apricot baking spices […] 기포는 적당함 머금었을때 부드러운 느낌~~ 떼루아에서 […] 판매중입니다~~ 가성비 좋아요^^”
What I learned today: even without a famous name, there are people behind the label.
Straight from the office: my second commute. As city lights slide across my face in the subway window, my head slowly switches to bar mode. The moment I arrived, Master Seo took out three flutes. Charles Clément Brut Rosé. In the pale pink glass the bubbles never stopped.
Minjae got his nose in first. "Isn't this Moscato? It's all strawberry." I burst out laughing, because Father's notebook has the very same question in it, and the one asking was Mom: "so fruity my wife asked, 'Isn't this Moscato??'" In the mouth it isn't sweet at all. Minjae figured that out and went quiet.
Polishing glasses, Master Seo said a little about his twenties. As a hotel sommelier he looked at the label first; only in the vineyards did he learn to look behind it. "The back of this label is the interesting part." Then he told us about the Aube: southern villages that were dropped from the Champagne map once, and put back later.
On the subway home, the strawberry left in my mouth brought back, just for a moment, a kitchen on a deep-winter Friday night when I was twenty-one. What I learned today: even without a famous name, there are people behind the label.
What this wine is
Charles Clément carries an individual's name, but it's actually a cooperative. On 29 September 1956, 22 growers in Colombé-le-Sec and neighboring villages (Colombé-la-Fosse, Saulcy) in the Aube — the southernmost edge of Champagne, France — pooled 18 hectares of vines and a single press. The first bottles went to market in 1972, and growers from nearby communes like Rouvres-les-Vignes and Lignol-le-Château kept joining over the years; today the cooperative counts roughly 60 growers farming 120 hectares together. A narrative of "a family house running back to 1918" isn't something I could confirm — this isn't a family estate at all, but a cooperative of village growers.
Charles Clément's home, the Côte des Bar in the Aube, is often the forgotten southern edge on maps of Champagne. Because it sat geographically apart from the Marne and Aisne districts, the Aube was excluded outright when the French government first delimited the official Champagne appellation in 1908. Aube's growers protested, insisting they were every bit as Champenois as their northern neighbors, and a few years later that grievance erupted into something far larger — the riots that shook the whole of Champagne in 1911. It wasn't until 1927 that the appellation boundary was redrawn to include the Aube, formally making the Côte des Bar part of Champagne.
What the world says
On Vivino, this rosé carries 276 ratings averaging 3.9 — 19 at five stars, 142 at four, 105 at three, clustering solidly in the upper-middle range. It ranks 236,402nd among 3.37 million French wines on the platform, but 7th among the 85 wines from Charles Clément — near the top of the producer's own lineup.
The flavor profile leads with red fruit — raspberry, strawberry — at 16 mentions, followed closely by green apple and pear (13), citrus (13), and an earthy group with mushroom (13). Structurally, both acidity and fizziness sit very high — 4.4/5 each — pointing to a bright, lively style.
"Simple, but quite worthy rosé: cherry pie with rose petals and strawberry jelly." — Vivino review, Mar 2024, 4.0 stars
"Great value. Served with cheese/charcuterie to start a lovely dinner. Lovely brut champagne with nice honey/light floral notes." — Vivino review, Aug 2017, 4.0 stars
No critic score is on file for this wine.
How I drank it
15 February 2020, 4.0 stars. I noted strawberry, citrus, apple blossom, apple, apricot and baking spice, but the line that stands out is this one: my wife, tasting alongside me, asked if this was actually a Moscato — the fruit was that pronounced. She meant it as a compliment about how ripe and grapey the aromas came across, the kind of impression you'd get from a sweet, fragrant Moscato d'Asti. I noted the bubbles as moderate and the palate as soft when held in the mouth.
My original note also named a specific retailer and price, which I'm leaving out here in keeping with this site's policy of never citing domestic retail prices or sellers — but the fact that I found it good value is worth keeping.
Placed next to other rosés from around the same period, this wine's standing gets clearer: Ruhlmann's Harmonie de Rosé Brut scored 3.0, Moët & Chandon's Impérial Rosé Brut scored 3.5 — this Charles Clément's 4.0 is the highest score any rosé Champagne has received in this magazine. That a relatively obscure cooperative label outscored well-known Grande Marque rosés says something on its own.
Where this wine shows up
When the 1908 Champagne appellation delimitation recognized only the Marne and Aisne districts and excluded the Aube, growers there — who considered themselves every bit as Champenois — protested. That grievance boiled over into the 1911 riots across Champagne (grape trucks intercepted, the village of Aÿ set ablaze), and it wasn't until 1927 that the boundary was redrawn to include the Aube. If Deutz, in Aÿ, was on the receiving end of that riot, this house's home region, the Aube, was on the side that set it off.
Wikipedia — Champagne Riots · VinePair — The Historic Riots That Defined the Champagne Region
From Krug Grande Cuvée to a non-vintage hypermarket bottle, ten Champagnes noted on this magazine, ranked by one consistent yardstick — my own score out of 5 — and lined up against Vivino averages and Wine-Searcher world averages.
Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.
Vivino community data
NV vintage rating distribution (276 ratings, average 3.9)
| 5★ | 19 (7%) | |
| 4★ | 142 (51%) | |
| 3★ | 105 (38%) | |
| 2★ | 7 (3%) | |
| 1★ | 3 (1%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Red fruit | 16 | raspberry 5 · strawberry 5 · cherry 2 · red currant 2 · red fruit 2 |
| Stone fruit & apple | 13 | green apple 7 · pear 4 · apple 2 |
| Citrus | 13 | citrus 7 · grapefruit 4 · lemon 2 |
| Earth | 13 | earthy 5 · mushroom 4 · honey 3 · minerals 1 |
| Bread & nuts (non-oak) | 10 | brioche 4 · almond 1 · biscuit 1 · hazelnut 1 · nutty 1 |
| Yeast & cream | 2 | yeast 2 |
| Vegetal | 1 | grass 1 |
Structure: Acidity 4.4/5 · Intensity 3.9/5 · Fizziness 4.4/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 276 ratings, average 3.9)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|
Other wines Father scored 4.0 →
Read next
Swipe for more →
Same producerCharles Dauteuil Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru NV
France · Champagne★★★★½
Same producerCharles Smith Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2017
United States★★★★☆
Similar styleLouis Roederer Cristal Rosé Vinothèque 2008
France · Champagne★★★★★
Similar styleBillecart-Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne NV
France · Champagne★★★★½
Similar stylePol Roger Rosé Vintage 2009
France · Champagne★★★☆☆
Similar styleMoët & Chandon, Impérial Rosé Brut NV
France★★★½☆
Same grapeRivers-Marie, Summa Vineyard Old Vines Pinot Noir 2009
United States · Sonoma★★★½☆
Same grapeDomaine Denis Bachelet, Gevrey-Chambertin 2003
France · Burgundy★★★★☆
Same grapeArnaud Mortet, Gevrey-Chambertin 2017
France · Burgundy★★★★☆
Same grapeClos du Val, Pinot Noir 2016 (Los Carneros)
United States · Napa★★★★☆
Same grapeVeuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label (Carte Jaune) NV
France · Champagne★★★★½
Same grapeSantero Pinot-Chardonnay Spumante Brut NV
Italy · Piedmont★★★½☆
StoryTen Champagnes, ranked by my own score — from Krug to supermarket bottles
More from Champagne, France
Swipe for more →
ChampagneJacques Selosse Lieux-dits Le Bout du Clos Ambonnay Grand Cru Extra Brut
★★★★★ChampagneLouis Roederer Cristal Rosé Vinothèque 2008
★★★★★ChampagneBillecart-Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne NV
★★★★½
ChampagneEgly-Ouriet Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru 'Les Crayères' Ambonnay
★★★★★
ChampagneGimonnet Gonet Millésime Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut 2011
★★★★☆
ChampagneJacques Selosse Initial Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru (Avize)
★★★★½
ChampagnePascal Doquet Cœur de Terroir Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru 2006
★★★★½ChampagnePol Roger Rosé Vintage 2009
★★★☆☆
ChampagneDeutz, Brut Classic (NV)
★★★☆☆
ChampagneTaittinger, Brut Réserve (NV)
★★★★☆Explore
Bottles Father gave five stars
Only the wines Father scored a perfect 5
→
Wines in manga, film and history
Bottles that show up in manga, film and history
→
Wines you can buy at the supermarket
Wines actually bought at the supermarket
→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Charles Clément Brut Rosé?
A non-vintage rosé Champagne from a cooperative house in Colombé-le-Sec, in the Côte des Bar (Aube) at the southern edge of Champagne. Founded in 1956 by 22 growers, it's now a cooperative of around 60 growers farming 120 hectares. A blend of Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; Vivino: 276 ratings averaging 3.9.
How much does it cost?
World average price pending (US$35 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026)) — Wine-Searcher access was blocked during this research.
What food pairs well with it?
Vivino users suggest pork, shellfish, rich fish (salmon, tuna) and mild soft cheese. With acidity at 4.4/5, it pairs naturally with appetizers of all kinds.
What is the Aube (Côte des Bar) in Champagne history?
Sitting apart from the Marne district, the Aube was initially excluded when the official Champagne appellation was delimited in 1908. Aube growers' anger over that exclusion helped set off the 1911 Champagne riots, and it wasn't until 1927 that the Aube was formally included in the Champagne appellation.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Champagne Charles Clément official — Notre Maison
- Wikipedia — Champagne Riots
- VinePair — The Historic Riots That Defined the Champagne Region
Read next
Swipe for more →
Same producerCharles Dauteuil Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru NV
France · Champagne★★★★½Same producerCharles Smith Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2017
United States★★★★☆Similar styleLouis Roederer Cristal Rosé Vinothèque 2008
France · Champagne★★★★★Similar styleBillecart-Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne NV
France · Champagne★★★★½Same grapeRivers-Marie, Summa Vineyard Old Vines Pinot Noir 2009
United States · Sonoma★★★½☆Same grapeDomaine Denis Bachelet, Gevrey-Chambertin 2003
France · Burgundy★★★★☆Story