Guy Larmandier is a producer that makes us wonder how many times we have to re-discover the wheel. The Cult of the Champagne Grower feels like a fairly new thing in wine circles. After all, back before Larmandier-Bernier hit the scene, everyone just drank Veuve Clicquot and the other Big Champagne Houses. Right?That's not how Neal Rosenthal remembers it. He's been importing grower-made Champagnes from Guy Larmandier since 1982. A small, quiet community of wine-lovers have been appreciating his wines for decades. Almost all of them were in New York, and none of them were on Instagram. But they knew their wine, and their adoration for this little secret was very real.When Neal met Guy, he, like his brother Philippe (founder of Larmandier-Bernier), was growing grapes in the Chardonnay-friendly villages of the Côte des Blancs, including the famous Grand Cru of Cramant. He farmed only nine hectares, about the size of a small domaine in Burgundy. He and his family (after Guy's death, his wife and sons now run the estate) have always had a light touch with dosage. But global warming has given them riper grapes, and at Rosenthal's suggestion they've started to produce zero-dosage cuvées. This was not about fashion—that's just not Rosenthal's thing—but rather an adjustment that he felt was needed to maintain the wine's balance and terroir-expression in changing climes.
What importer Rosenthal Wine Merchant has to say about this wine...
The non-dosage disgorgement of Larmandier’s Cramant is a different beast from the “classic” version: less rich but more driving; less broad but longer in the mouth. The total absence of any sense of sweetness allows the limestone to take center stage, and it presents in a more piercing and saline manner than the above wine. Despite its relative rigorousness and austerity, however, this is by no means a difficult wine. Rather, it will appeal to those who relish the sort of palpable, intense mineral character Champagne is capable of when made in such a straightforward fashion.
Details
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Grape Variety
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Vintage
NV
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Size
750ml
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Farming Practice
Sustainable
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Style
Earthy , Elegant , Minerally
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Sweetness
Champagne Brut Nature , Dry
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Body
Medium Bodied