Champagne Larmandier Bernier, Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru, Extra Brut
Critics reviews
(Antonio Galloni - Wine Advocate - Dec 08)
Jancis Robinson - Top 100 festive wines: sparkling wine - FT - 30-Nov-2013
Larmandier-Bernier, Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru offers lots of lovely development on the nose. Not especially fizzy and with a teeny bit of astringency on the finish but a really complete wine that spreads across the palate. ...I can’t stress enough what great value is to be found among the better growers’ champagnes – those made by the people who grow the vines, as opposed to the wines blended by the big houses from grapes they buy in (and, in some cases, grow themselves). I don’t mean that these growers' champagnes are necessarily cheap. But if you want wines with real personality and balance – not tart, astringent, sweetened-up fizz – then look carefully at artisan producers...
(Jancis Robinson MW, www.jancisrobinson.com, 3-06-09)
About this WINE
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier
Pierre Larmandier’s reputation continues on its upwards trajectory and La Maison Larmandier Bernier is now perceived as one of the greatest addresses in Champagne.
The ingredients for this success are many and varied; biodynamic viticulture, wonderfully old vines, fantastic locations and aspects for the vines, and a non-intervention approach in the winery to mirror the respect for nature in the vineyards.
Nothing out of the ordinary on the face of it, but when all elements are joined together the results are little short of outstanding. The perfect expression of the purest Chardonnay.
Blanc de Blancs
In Champagne, the term Blanc de Blancs designates Champagnes made only from Chardonnay grapes. The vineyards located between Cramant and Mesnil-sur-Oger in Cote de Blancs yield the best examples of the style.
A classic Blanc de Blancs is restrained and elegant when young, yet with ageing it develops a mouth-coating brioche richness that overlays an intense expression of fruitiness. Blanc de Blancs are endowed with longer ageing potential than a typical Blanc de Noirs.
Recommended Producers: Salon, Billecart Salmon, Jacques Selosse, Dom Ruinart, Krug, Le Mesnil Grand Cru, Guy Larmandier
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.
Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.
Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.
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Description
...More bracing is the biodynamic Larmandier Bernier Blanc de Blancs Premier Cur extra Brut. The bubbles explode in piercing fresh fruit aromas, and there is a long aftertaste of grapefruit, cucumber and salt minerals.
(Bob Tyrer on the Bottle - The Sunday Times - 11-Oct-09)
From the scenic rolling chalky hills of Vertus (70% ), Avize, Chouilly and Oger, the fruits of biodynamic viticulture par excellence, untroubled by the intervention of dosage, and therefore astonishingly pure, smoky, chalky, earthy and yet wonderfully refined. Develops a magisterial vinous character with a little time in the glass.
(Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer)
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