Waris-Larmandier
Waris-Larmandier in Avize farms nine hectares in the Côte des Blancs, with grand cru plots in Avize, Cramant, Chouilly, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Marie-Hélène Waris and her husband Vincent founded the house in 1989; today she runs it with their three children Jean-Philippe, Pierre-Louis and Inès, with Jean-Philippe overseeing vineyard and cellar while Inès designs the floral labels. Since 2011 the entire estate has been farmed biodynamically. Jean-Philippe Waris bottles at 4.5 bar instead of the usual six, which makes the mousse creamier and the wines approachable early. The focus is on Chardonnay from the grand cru villages of the Côte des Blancs.
Avize and the Waris family
Five generations ago, the Waris family came from Finland to Avize in the Côte des Blancs. Marie-Hélène Waris comes from the Larmandier family; her brother François runs Guy Larmandier, and in the same village her husband Vincent's brother runs the Waris-Hubert estate. In 1989 Marie-Hélène and Vincent Waris founded their own house. The nine hectares lie in the grand cru villages of Avize, Cramant, Chouilly, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, with Pinot Noir added in Chamery on the Montagne de Reims. Marie-Hélène Waris organizes the harvest with 35 helpers.
Jean-Philippe Waris in the cellar
In 2009 the eldest son Jean-Philippe Waris took over vinification, and in 2011 he converted all nine hectares to biodynamic farming. The grapes are hand-picked and pressed in a traditional Coquard press with a 4,000-kilogram capacity; only the cuvée, the juice from the first pressing, is fermented. Fermentation starts spontaneously, partly in stainless steel, partly in 600-liter Burgundian demi-muids. The reduced bottling pressure of 4.5 bar makes the bead finer. The Haute Volée 1er Cru Blanc de Noirs, made from Pinot Noir and Meunier from the Montagne de Reims grown on limestone, chalk, loam, clay and flint, turns silky as a result and carries a dosage of 5 grams.
Single vineyards in Cramant and Oger
Les Terres des Buissons comes from a single vineyard in Cramant at 150 meters, three kilometers from the estate; the Chardonnay vines were planted in 1969. The wine ferments spontaneously in 600-liter Burgundian demi-muids, undergoes malolactic fermentation on its own, ages at least five years sur lattes and is hand-disgorged without dosage.
Other single vineyards date back to plantings from 1962 and 1963, including Les Bauves in Cramant. Les Montchenevaux au Levant comes from Oger. These Champagnes remain unsulfured until bottling. Les Furieuses, a Coteaux Champenois Rouge made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, also unsulfured, comes from an old complanted vineyard.
Particules Crayeuses and Racines de Trois
For Particules Crayeuses, Jean-Philippe Waris picks Chardonnay from vines at least forty years old in Chouilly, Cramant, Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The base wines age for six to eighteen months, followed by 24 to 36 months sur lattes; the cuvée blends two vintages with 30 percent solera reserve dating back to 2013, and carries a dosage of 2 grams. In the zero-dosage version even that is omitted; chalk, lemon and oyster shell define the wine, along with a saline streak.
The Racines de Trois brings together the three grape varieties of Champagne: 60 percent Chardonnay from the chalk soils of the Côte des Blancs, 30 percent Pinot Noir from the limestone marl of the Montagne de Reims and the Kimmeridgian limestone of the Côte des Bar, and 10 percent Meunier. The three roots in the name also refer to the three siblings who carry on the house founded by their parents.