Larmandier’s prestige cuvee is produced from their oldest parcels of Chardonnay in the Grand Cru village of Cramant (along with a small amount of fruit from a holding in the Grand Cru Chouilly), and it spends a full five years on the lees before disgorgement. No dosage is present in our version of the 2012, but one would never even know it is missing—the wine’s depth and richness is extraordinary, voicing the sappy and dense character of the fruit Francois wrests from these old vines. Notes of pear tart, fresh figs, baked apples, and cherries frame a vibrant, expansive palate, and the wine’s chalky core shows itself in a clinging, almost salty finish.
WINERY NOTES: "From Chardonnay vines in the Grand Cru village of Cramant. The total absence of any sense of sweetness in this Brut Zéro allows the limestone to take center stage, and it presents in a more piercing and saline manner than in Larmandier’s Brut wines. 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. Aged 3 years sur lattes."
VINOUS 93 POINTS - "The 2012 Brut Zero Blanc De Blancs Cuvee Signe Francois Vieilles Vignes is a fine choice for drinking now and over the next handful of years (drink 2025-2030). It emerges from the family's oldest vines in Cramant, plus a touch of fruit from Chouilly. Dried citrus peel, marzipan, apricot, tangerine oil, acacia and light caramel overtones meld together in the glass, showing the gentle evolution of a wine that is peaking."
WINERY NOTES: "From Chardonnay vines in the Grand Cru village of Cramant. The total absence of any sense of sweetness in this Brut Zéro allows the limestone to take center stage, and it presents in a more piercing and saline manner than in Larmandier’s Brut wines. 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. Aged 3 years sur lattes."
VINOUS 93 POINTS - "The 2012 Brut Zero Blanc De Blancs Cuvee Signe Francois Vieilles Vignes is a fine choice for drinking now and over the next handful of years (drink 2025-2030). It emerges from the family's oldest vines in Cramant, plus a touch of fruit from Chouilly. Dried citrus peel, marzipan, apricot, tangerine oil, acacia and light caramel overtones meld together in the glass, showing the gentle evolution of a wine that is peaking."
