The Wine Importer

Why do Larmandier-Bernier Champagnes Taste so Good?
I visited Larmandier-Bernier a week ago and had a great tasting ranging back to 1976, although the highlight for me was the 1989 Cramant. There is a purity to these wines and visiting the vineyards, tasting the wines and talking with Sophie and Pierre Larmandier made clear to me why these wines are so good:

The vines are older and overwhelmingly are sélection masale. Very few clones means very good wines.
Yields are kept below the allowable quotas and the work in the vineyard is intensive and constant.
The entire estate is now being worked in biodyamie, although they describe themselves as bio-réalistes, that is they view biodyamie as a way of making better wines, not as end in of itself.
The vines are plowed, as they have been for several generations. The vines are alive and maintained, rather than killed off by herbicides like their neighbors.
All this work in the vines leads to a minerality which allows the Larmandier to work in low or no dosage.

What I found particularly interesting was to compare their vines with their neighbors, some of whom are well known in America. In general, most Champagne growers and négoces look to rip out their vines when they are about 30-years-old. The idea is to optimize yields and output. Pierre showed me the charge on many of his neighbors vines and these vines will reach 120 to 140 hectolitres/hectare with very little trouble.

This appears to be the norm in the area. Much of Champagne is picked from 8 to 9 degrees of Alcohol. Given the high yields, it is difficult to reach ripeness and the 9 degrees is the legally allowable limit. The wines are then chaptalized a couple of degrees legally, or more with a sleight of hand, and an additional degree is added by the second fermentations.

Larmandier looks to pick at ripeness. I tasted a series of still Chardonnay wines in cask from 2005 which were absolutely delicious. It was almost regretable that these wines are not bottled as they are. The wines were picked at above 11 degrees, which is almost aberrant for the area, and it was great fun to taste Chardonnay at such a low degree which still had roundness, depth and character. Another degree will come with the secondary fermentation, but these are natural wines with no chaptalization. Pierre has had to chaptalize on rare occasion, but in general he looks for a natural degree. To get this level of ripeness, yields must low and you must wait.

One of the myths of Champagne is the quality of the still wines doesn't matter, but in tasting through the cellar, the minerality shines in each cuvée. This minerality is transformed into Champagne, but the terroir continues to dominate, rather than the process of vinification. The Champagne is made without innoculated yeasts and without enzymes and retains its purity throughout.

The other interesting thing I learned is that it is common not to harvest the entirety of your property. That is, if you have a portion of your vines at high yields, you just let a few hectares go without picking them. So, for instance, if you have 10 hectares of vines and are allowed to pick at 75 hectolitres/hectare, then you are allowed to legally produce 750 hectolitres. If you overproduce, you just leave a few hectares unpicked and reach the legally acceptable output. Of course, the 7 hectares you pick are still the product of huge yields and the fact you don't pick three hectares doesn't make the wine you do put in bottle any better. But, this is a common practice throughout the region.

This practice is now being challenged by recent legislation of the INAO which was enacted before the death of Réné Rénou. This legislation required the entirety of one's vineyards to be picked if you are to be granted the AOC. This ruling has created a furor in Champagne, where it goes against the dominant harvesting practices outlined above.

Growers like Larmandier and Anselme Selosse are to be applauded for the great work they are doing in their vineyards and their cellars to renew the quality of Champagne. Champagne as a region has had no trouble positioning itself as a luxury good. Unfortunately, the quality in the bottle is so often a disappointment.

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