Les Bauves, Cramant Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 2014

A mature Grand Cru Champagne that favours concentration over volume: pale yellow, with a fine mousse, nutty richness and an acidity that has come through the years unscathed.

Les Bauves is a single vineyard in Cramant, a Grand Cru village of the Côte des Blancs. The plot sits at 115 metres, roughly 2.2 kilometres from the estate. The Chardonnay vines come from three plantings: 1962, 1986 and 1998.

Pure Chardonnay, hand-harvested and pressed in a traditional Coquard press with a 4,000-kilogram capacity. Only the juice from the first pressing went into fermentation. Fermentation and ageing took place spontaneously in stainless steel, after which the wine rested for at least five years sur lattes. Jean-Philippe, responsible for vinification since 2009, bottles at 4.5 bar instead of the usual six, giving the bead a finer texture.

The nose shows ripe fruit, hawthorn, butter and praline crunch, alongside honey, nougat, lightly toasted almonds, chalk and citrus zest. On the palate it is mature yet vibrant: lively acidity carries the fleshy, very ripe fruit, the mousse froths up creamy and stays silky. Juicy, threaded with fine minerality.

Char with dashi beurre blanc and kaffir lime, hazelnut blini with artichokes and black truffle, or veal sweetbreads with smoked eel jus.

Waris-Larmandier converted its nine hectares to biodynamic farming in 2011; the estate has been Demeter-certified since 2020, with the logo featured on the label. The estate's single-vineyard Champagnes are one-off cuvées, different every year.