From: Côte de Blancs, Champagne, France
Varietal: Chardonnay
Master Sommelier Ian Cauble: “It is richly, exquisitely textured yet perfectly precise, full of both power and finesse. …buckle up for a heartstopping ride through rich, golden-hued textures, fantastically tiny and elegant bubbles, and racy, chalky minerality. Baked apples, fresh brioche, bartlett pears, lemon curd, orange blossoms, and sea salt dusted figs are all layered over a powerful structure, and culminate in a long, oyster shell finish.”
Taste: Upon first opening, an oceanic, flinty, spun-gold-like aesthetic takes center stage, harkening to the imagery of Rumplestiltskin’s golden wheel. Pulling off a feat like this certainly feels like it. In the glass, aromas of warm petrichor, ginger, saffron, star anise, confit lemon, green apples, Bartlett pears, dried pineapple, and just-baked brioche buns oscillate around a mineral core. Like the 2012 review above, this champagne benefits from oxygen exposure. In just thirty minutes, the palate opens to silky stone fruits and confit citrus, and a distinct note of dry honey lingers on the finish, doubling down on the spun-gold aesthetic. Take your time with this lovely bubbly; you won’t regret it.
Pairing: The opulence and precision of this champagne will pair beautifully with a range of rich yet refined dishes, from caviar with blinis to white fish like halibut or cod to perfectly browned scallops. We’d recommend Joshua Bousel’s recipe for Grilled Lobster With Lemon-Shallot Butter for a special evening.
About. A quiet revolution has occurred in Champagne, where names like Veuve Clicquot have long reigned supreme. Among the lesser-known artisanal producers, a treasure is waiting to be savored by the discerning palates of wine connoisseurs. Enter producers like Guy Larmandier, a pioneering grower in the region, laid the foundation of what can be termed the undercurrent in the champagne world – The Cult of the Champagne Grower. While Larmandier and others like him have primarily stayed out of the limelight, they've had a small but fervent following. Since Neal Rosenthal began importing Guy Larmandier's Champagnes to the US in 1982, a passionate community began forming around these exquisite creations, mainly in New York.
The Man Behind the Bubbles
Before his death, Guy Larmandier, much like his brother Philippe, the founder of Larmandier-Bernier, cultivated vineyards in the Chardonnay-rich villages of the Côte des Blancs, including the renowned Grand Cru of Cramant. The domaine, now led by Guy's widow, Colette, and their children, François and Marie-Hélène, spans nine hectares – equivalent to a small Burgundy estate. Their focus is quality over quantity. Annual production is on the order of 90,000 bottles, and their style continues to be characterized by a delicate touch with dosage. Interestingly, as global warming has rendered the grapes riper, Rosenthal, the astute observer, advised them to produce zero-dosage cuvées to maintain the wine's balance and authentic expression of the terroir.
The Domaine and The Cellar
The Domaine of Guy Larmandier is located in Vertus, in the southern part of the Côte des Blancs. Its nine hectares of vineyard holdings are located in the grand-cru-rated villages of Chouilly and Cramant, as well as the Premier Cru villages of Vertus and Cuis. These locations tenderly nurture the Chardonnay grape varietal; the sites are known for their finesse and minerality.
A testament to their unwavering commitment to quality, the Larmandier family ensures manual harvesting. The Champagnes are aged 36 months on the lees, and those destined for the US market are disgorged on order, receiving no dosage to emphasize the purity and finesse of this distinctive terroir.
2011 Signé François Vieilles Vignes Blanc De Blancs Grand Cru Brut Zero
2011 was a tough vintage weather-wise in champagne; many growers struggled to ripen their vines. “The cool conditions that characterised 2011 were interspersed with unhelpful heat spikes, rain at just the wrong moments and localised hail storms,” said Gabriel Stone in his 2022 article for The Drinks Business.
This particular champagne, however, is a testament to the adage that great producers will make great wine, even in bad years. It’s made from the oldest vines the family has planted in the finest soils of the Grand Cru village of Cramant, with a small portion of old vine fruit from their Grand Cru holding in Chouilly. Aged for five years before disgorgement, the wine’s depth and richness are extraordinary, voicing the sappy and dense character of the fruit François wrests from these old vines.