Vieille Vigne du Levant Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2014

A vintage Champagne of great substance: opulent and creamy, held together by tannin and powerful acidity. Two grams of dosage hide nothing — the house of Larmandier-Bernier's top wine stands without any sweetness.

The grapes come from a single parcel in Cramant, Grand Cru on the Côte des Blancs: Bourron du Levant. Levant means east, and the site catches the first rays of morning sun. The soil is pure chalk, and the vines range from 56 to over 80 years old.

Pure Chardonnay, farmed biodynamically across the whole estate since 1999. Gentle pressing, light settling, then straight into wood: alcoholic and malolactic fermentation begin spontaneously in barrels and foudres from the Stockinger cooperage. In the first year the wine ages on its lees, unfiltered and unfined. Tirage in July, followed by seven to eight years sur lattes, with each bottle hand-disgorged six months before release.

On the nose, ripe stone fruit, both mellow and crisp, fresh sourdough bread, buttery pastry and sweet spices, followed by honey, chamomile, hay and a touch of oak. On the palate it is enveloping and creamy, with ripe citrus fruit and stone fruit, noticeable tannin and an acidity that brings tension. The finish carries a vibrant minerality.

Veal fillet and forcemeat in puff pastry with champagne sauce and truffle jus, sole and langoustine with glazed chicory and beurre blanc, or young catfish with steamed yellow carrots, pollen and elderflower.

The wine was first released in 1988, then under the name Vieille Vigne de Cramant. Because Cramant was repeatedly misread as Crémant, the Larmandiers renamed it after the parcel. No blending with other vintages or terroirs, and the bottles come without a capsule.