Larmandier-Bernier Vieille Vigne du Levant [Cramant] Extra Brut GC 2013

The 2013 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant was tightly wound when I tasted it last year, but today it is really beginning to show all its cards. Delivering a complex bouquet of orange oil and pear mingled with notions of freshly baked bread, white flowers, marzipan and beeswax, it’s full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with terrific concentration, racy acids and chalky structure.

Powerful and precise, it concludes with a long, mineral finish. This is a Champagne which should be tasted for its own qualities as an aperitif, to accompany poultry with morels, and this cuvée will happily stand its ground with dishes cooked in cream.