Chemins d'Avize Grand Cru 2016 Extra-Brut - Larmandier-Bernier

Chemins d'Avize Grand Cru 2016 Extra-Brut - Larmandier-Bernier

  Direct from the estate 

96/100 Parker

Drink between 2024 and 2040

"The 2016 Blanc de Blancs Les Chemins d'Avize, disgorged in April 2024 with a dosage of two grams per liter, is a true success. Made from grapes grown on the Chemin de Flavigny and Chemin de Plivot parcels, located on the plain at the foot of the Avize hillside, it benefits from a late harvest, as the grapes ripen more slowly there. Vinified in 20-hectoliter Stockinger tanks and barrels of varying sizes, it was then aged on its lees for 10 months. The result of concentrated 50-year-old vines, below-average yields due to mildew, and late ripening, this wine reveals aromas of marzipan, fresh bread, lemon zest, and beeswax on the nose. Elegant and powerful, with a brilliant chalky color, this wine is complex and Harmonious, supported by a lively acidity that gives it a precise and persistent finish. More taut and acidic than the 2015 vintage, it shares more in common with the character of the 2013 vintage." Kristaps Karklins

Main technical specifications: 100% Chardonnay; 100% Grand Cru d’Avize; old vines ~50-60 years old; dosage 2 g/L; fermentation in barrels and casks; aged for 1 year on lees in wood, then a minimum of 5 to 6 years on laths; alcohol content approx. 12.5% ​​vol. The wine is distinguished by an elegant and dense texture, blending ripe fruit, chalky tension, and great persistence, typical of the great Blanc de Blancs of the Côte des Blancs.

The Les Chemins d’Avize Grand Cru Extra Brut cuvée from Larmandier-Bernier is a single-vineyard Champagne from two lieux-dits located in the heart of the village of Avize: Chemin de Plivot and Chemin de Flavigny. These old vines, approximately 50 to 60 years old, are rooted in very poor soils where chalk outcrops, giving rise to a wine marked by great floral finesse and profound minerality. This single-vineyard cuvée was created in 2009 to fully express the unique character of the Avize terroir, in the heart of the Côte des Blancs.

The winemaking process relies on precise and minimal-intervention winemaking. The grapes are gently pressed, and the lightly settled juice is directly transferred to barrels. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations occur spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in Stockinger barrels and casks, followed by approximately one year of aging on natural lees without fining or filtration. The bottles then continue their evolution in the cellar with at least five to six years of aging on lees, before manual disgorging and a low dosage of Extra Brut 2 g/L.

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