For love of Champagne
Look, fizzy wine from all over has been booming in recent years. But there’s something special about Champagne: Particularly, the depth of flavor that comes from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier worked by grower-producers who know their terroirs.
This December at Robert Camuto Meets… (at winespectator.com) I’m dedicating space to a couple of must-drink small producers of Champagne’s great Chardonnay dominated Côte des Blancs.
This week, read about one of my favorite light-my-fire Champagnes – Larmandier-Bernier in the charming little town of Vertus.
For Pierre Larmandier of Larmandier-Bernier the work of creating a great champagne starts with care in the vineyards
Pierre Larmandier, whose family traces their winemaking routes back to the French Revolution, is no stuffed shirt. He and his sons work their vineyards carefully, where he has been a pioneer in making terroir driven Champagnes and Biodynamics. A few years ago Larmandier-Bernier reawoke me to Champagne’s potential and made me fall in love with the stuff all over again.
Next week check the same space for a column on one of his great neighbors, Champagne Doyard, emblematic of the 21st-century wave of boutique producers combining modern, precise winemaking with once-waning traditions like horse plowing, fermentations in wood cask and long aging.
Sure one can drink other bubbles. But I think right now what’s making Champagne great is not its name, its fizz, or laurels. What’s making it distinctive are people (surprisingly!) getting down to earth more than most anywhere else.