2014 LARMANDIER-BERNIER Terre de Vertus Non Dosé 1er Cru, Lea & Sandeman

LARMANDIER-BERNIER

2014 Terre de Vertus Non Dosé 1er Cru

Grapes Chardonnay
Colour White
Origin France, Champagne
Other Certified Organic, Bio-dynamic
Village Vertus
Classification 1er Cru
ABV 12.5%

Larmandier-Bernier’s latest vintage of Terre de Vertus is a real beauty. The 2014 offers aromas of citrus, ripe apple, peach and fresh pastry. As ever, it is a particularly vinous Champagne that constantly changes once in the glass. It is rich and full bodied, yet perfectly balanced with that textbook racy acidity. I was told that a great Champagne should also be a great still wine and if you have the patience to wait it is well worth leaving a bit in the glass, letting the bubbles subside and re-tasting. Simply delicious! Suffice it to say that this is a lovely rendition of Terre de Vertus. It is a joy to drink now but has many years of life ahead of it. Drink: 2023-2038 L&S (May 2021)


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We commenced with champagne, courtesy of the 2014 Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Terre de Vertus from Larmandier-Bernier, which undergoes at least five years’ aging on the lees without any dosage and features a light pétillance. The bouquet requires two or three minutes to find its groove, eventually offering enticing scents of white peach and almond; a hint of lemon sherbet comes through with time. It is elegant and displays commendable weight (not a Zen-like champagne). A crisp sour lemon note lends sufficient tension toward the finish. Beautiful. Drinking range: 2021 - 2028 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)

Disgorged in January 2020, the 2014 Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Terre de Vertus is a fine follow-up to the excellent 2013 and 2012 renditions. Unwinding in the glass with scents of white flowers, citrus oil, crisp orchard fruit, fresh pastry and almonds, it's full-bodied, layered and vinous, with more richness and mid-palate amplitude than the tauter 2013, underpinned by racy acids and chalky structuring extract. Drinking range: 2023 - 2045 Rating: 94+ William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Mar 2021)

Origin: This plot of Chardonnay has been vinified separately since 1995. It’s a parcel named “Les Barillers”, situated mid-slope in Vertus. This terroir is very particular: delicate, saline and at the same time, very complex. The balance is already present, so no need for any blending. 2014, a cool vintage with late and sunny harvest, shows a great balance with the mineral purity typical from Terre de Vertus.

Vinification and maturation: The natural alcoholic fermentation (indigenous yeasts) and the malolactic fermentation begin spontaneously in the Stockinger wooden vats and casks. The wines are matured on the natural lees during their first year, with no filtering or fining being carried out. The bottling takes place at the end of July and there is no blending with other years – this is a vintage Champagne – or with other terroirs – this is a single-parcel cuvée. The bottles are taken down into the coolness of the cellars. The second fermentation takes place and maturation ‘on laths’ goes on for at least 5 more years. Each bottle is disgorged by hand 12 months before being marketed. This wine is zero dosage (no sugar added) so as to respect throughout its purity.

Winemaker's notes (Mar 2021)

Champagne Larmandier-Bernier

Pierre and Sophie Larmandier and their sons Arthur and now Georges too (joined September 2021) are determined to make wines as true as possible to their origins in their different vineyards. These are split into around fifty separate parcels spread across the Côte des Blancs in the grand cru villages of Cramant, Chouilly, Oger and Avize, and the premier cru of Vertus.

All but three of the parcels (representing 0.5 hectares) are farmed using non-officially certified biodynamic methods. Wines are made only from their own 15 hectares of vines, which are on average 33 years old. All of their Champagnes are the purest expressions of Chardonnay.

Working only with natural yeasts the influence of 'terroir' is all important to the style of his wines, so much so that he uses a minimum 'dosage' (if at all) so as not to mask the wines natural characteristics.

Pierre has recently changed the 'Tradition' cuvée, re-launching it as 'Latitude', and it is now also a Blanc de Blancs, with its origins in the vineyards south of Vertus. The old 'Blanc de Blancs cuvée, which is known henceforth as 'Longitude', comes exclusively from vineyards on the Cote de Blancs itself and is classified Premier Cru'.

The Pinot Noir is now reserved exclusively for Pierre's distinctive dark rosé and for the Vertus Rouge Coteaux Champenois.

Awarded the Robert Parker Green emblem in July 2021.

This wine isn't currently part of a mixed case, but you can always browse our full selection of mixed cases here.
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