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The champagnes of this house are characterised by elegance and a very successful balance of minerality and silkiness. Due to the lower pressure, they appear open, round and charming right from the start.

In the fifth part of our Champagne Weeks Today we talk about the house Waris Larmandier.

There will be an online video tasting with Pierre-Louis Waris on Monday 26/9/2022 at 6pm. Here you can get the Tasting package. The number of participants is limited to 12 parties. The tasting will be held in English.
Due to work in the vineyard and cellar, the date may be postponed at short notice.

As a reminder: Until the end of August, we will provide you with 7% Discount on all Winemaker-Champagne, from a purchase value of 250€. Please use the code: "CHAMPAGNERWOCHEN" at the checkout.

Waris-Larmandier

waris larmadier family
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The house Waris-Larmandier, Marie-Hélène Larmandier - the cousin of Pierre Larmandier - and her husband Vincent Waris founded in 1989 in Avize. Both come from winegrowing families. Both the Larmandiers and the Wariswho once immigrated from Finland, there are five generations. Vincent Wariswhose brother owned the house Waris-Hubert in Avize, but died unexpectedly a short time later. At that time, Marie-Hélène also ran the Guy Larmandier family vineyard in Vertus together with her brother François.
Today, Jean-Philippe is supported by his brother, the architect Pierre-Louis, and his sister Inès, a designer and sculptor, who have both returned to Avize. It is an artistically inclined family that has now found each other again.

Together with their mother, they form the »racines de trois« (the three roots) of Waris-Larmandier, each making their own contribution to the artistic vision of this young and dynamic champagne house. Inès designed the distinctive floral labels in homage to her mother's famous flower boxes that adorn their whitewashed family home in the vineyards at the entrance to the picturesque village of Avize. Those who visit the Côte des Blancs more often will know them.
Pierre Louis Waris

First class locations

Waris-Larmandier owns nine hectares of prime vineyards with old Chardonnay vines in the villages of Chouilly, Cramant, Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. They also cultivate some smaller parcels of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier in the Montagne de Reims, more precisely in Bligny and Chamery, as well as some parcels on the Côte des Bar. They are located in the villages of Avirey-Lingey, Bar-sur-Seine and Éguilly-Sous-Bois. The Racines de Trois cuvée is also made from all these vineyards.

The focus is on the estates on the Côte des Blancs, where Jean-Philippe owns some partly very old vineyards. In 2013, he bottled the first champagnes in very small quantities. The base of 120-year-old plots includes Les Regards d'Avize (1895 and 1963), La Carelle in Chouilly (1976) and Les Terres des Buissons in Cramant (1963).

All vineyards are equipped with Respect for the terroir certified biodynamic and are farmed according to Demeter standards. Jean-Philippe has chosen to abandon the typical Guyot upbringing in favour of single trunk upbringing for the younger plantings.

working with a horse in the champagne vineyards of waris larmandier

Only 4.5 bar pressure

If one looks into the cellar, one notices that very classically with a Coquard press only the cuvée from the first pressing is used. The wines are vinified in stainless steel as well as in 600-litre tonneaux of Wood from Burgundy and from Avize fermented and aged. It is fermented spontaneously. The liqueur de tirage as well as the dosage consist of clarified grape musts from the own vineyards.
The base wines are matured in the bottle for six to 18 months before the second fermentation, followed by 24 to 36 months of maturation on the lees sur lattes. During this process, only enough liqueur de tirage is added to make up 4.5 bar instead of the usual 6 bar develop pressure in the bottle. Waris-Larmandier is not alone in this. There are other winegrowers who have chosen to make the wines thereby less to have an effect.
cramant baller waris larmandier

The style of the house

The champagnes from Waris-Larmandier are characterised by Elegance and a very successful Balance of minerality and silkiness out. Due to the lower pressure, they appear open, round and charming right from the start. The ripe fruit, which seems very juicy, also contributes to this. At Racines de Trois, the entry-level champagne with 9 grams of dosage, this creates a very sensual feeling of balance, of opulence and yet also of clarity and precision.
Bringing together the three areas of Montagne de Reims, Côtes des Bar and Côtes des Blancs with the three main classic grape varieties, it is a classic non-vintage brut, but one where it is very clear that it is a handcrafted, finessed representative of its kind. The Particules Crayeuses is available as Extra Brut and as Zéro Dosage. It is a pure Chardonnay, i.e. a Blanc de Blancs, from Grand Cru sites with old vines from the Côte des Blancs.
The Extra Brut with 5 grams dosage is naturally the champagne with a little more Charm and noblessethe Zéro Dosage of champagnes with more Pressure, finesse and minerality. Both are first-class representatives of the Côte des Blancs, each of which still has an excellent Maturation potential possess.
Tasting Pack Waris-Larmandier 2022

Tasting Packs Waris-Larmandier

Photos: Instagram / Winery Waris-Larmandier
Text and expertise: Christoph Raffelt


Thank you very much & best regards,

Dimitri Taits
livingwines.com
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