One of the most significant trends of Champagne in the last 20 years is the increasing prevalence of little or no dosage. Dosage is sugar added to the final blend, to balance out Champagne’s naturally high acidity. Many growers began lowering their levels of dosage, and some insisting on none at all, otherwise known as Brut Nature. The reason why lies in its very name, Brut Nature, the view that by not adding sugar, you are better able to express your vineyard or village. Warm vintages however have brought acidity levels down naturally, enabling producers to lower the need to ‘balance’ the high acidity, that is so important to the style and structure of Champagne. Not so much capturing freshness, as needing it.
One of the problems that I have had with Champagne is it’s immense power, driven by all to often, uncomfortably high levels of acidity and then balanced out by gluey sugar as evidenced by the larger houses’ Brut NVs. One glass is delicious, but also enough as your palate tires from the intensity of vinous onslaught.
To that end, like so many, if not all of Europe’s most famous wine regions, the uncomfortable fact is, that warm weather has ensured that the wines have never, ever been better. And if you don’t believe me, try a bottle, or better still all of Larmandier Bernier’s 2023 releases.
The 2023 Larmandier Bernier releases are the best from this esteemed producer. Better still, their price increases have not been nearly as dramatic as their peers. We’ve been drinking these wines for over 20 years and if there ever was a sweet spot it is now. They are deeper, more concentrated, the fruit a little more pulpy and succulent. Richness has brought freshness, length, structure and greater refinement, without any loss of minerality, salinity or purity of fruit. Indeed the balance of acidity has never been so perfect, hence a greater ease of drinking. The best producers in Champagne display a certain degree of stylistic pragmatism. With Larmandier Bernier you get the best of everything; an artisan grower, crafting wines of breathtaking elegance, purity, refinement and above all, delicious drinkability.
