Rosé de Saignée Premier Cru Extra Brut

The Rosé de Saignée Premier Cru Extra Brut is a powerful Champagne made from pure Pinot Noir. It doesn't chase the delicate side of rosé, but fruit, spice and drive.

Larmandier-Bernier farms 16 hectares on the Côte des Blancs, spread across 17 parcels from Vertus to Avize; Vertus is the estate's Premier Cru site. The soil is pure chalk, which gives the wines their vibrant minerality. Herbicides disappeared from the vineyards in 1992, and in 1999 Pierre Larmandier converted fully to biodynamics, among the very first estates in Champagne to do so.

Single-varietal Pinot Noir, obtained by saignée: the colour comes from drawing off juice from the skins during maceration. In the cellar, interventions stay minimal, with spontaneous fermentation from the estate's own yeasts, no fining and no filtration. Ageing takes place in large wooden casks from the Austrian cooperage Stockinger. The house dosage is no more than four grams of sugar per litre, usually zero.

First wild raspberry, cassis, rosehip and preserved sour cherry; with air and rising temperature, undergrowth, leather and cedarwood join in, set against nettle, mint and blackcurrant leaf. On the palate, fine bitter notes create a contrast to the fruit, the wine has grip, shows spice and presence, and finishes very long.

Pan-seared duck breast on lamb's lettuce with wild raspberry dressing and pomegranate seeds, smoked salmon rolls with cranberry cream and thyme or strawberries with sprouts, king oyster mushrooms and Brie.

"A good Champagne follows the rules of production. A great one is born when you break them," says Pierre Larmandier. Even the foil over the cork is absent. Since 2017, his son Arthur has worked at the estate.