Waris-Larmandier - Champagne Grand Cru Lieu-dit Avize 'Les Regards d'Avize' 2018

Located in Avize, in the heart of the Côte des Blancs, Waris-Larmandier Champagne was founded in 1989 by 5th generation grower, Marie-Hélène Larmandier, and her husband, Vincent Waris. Following Vincent’s passing, Marie-Hélène continued the family business while also managing her family estate of Guy Larmandier with her brother. Our story and relationship start with the next generation at Waris-Larmandier, led by eldest-son Jean-Philippe Waris. He took charge of the vineyards and winemaking in 2009, after working with Benoît Lahaye to learn biodynamic farming, among other lessons. Jean-Philippe immediately began converting his family’s 9ha of old-vine vineyards in 2011, utilizing biodynamic and regenerative farming principles. Waris-Larmandier achieved their biodynamic certification from Demeter in 2020.

Today, he is joined by his architect brother, Pierre-Louis, and sister Inès, a designer and sculptor. The artistically minded siblings have all recently returned to their native village of Avize, not only to contribute to the family winery but also to transform their way of life, organized around their artistic and agrarian sensibilities. Together, with their mother, they form the racines de trois or “three roots” of Waris-Larmandier, each contributing a unique piece to the artistic vision of this young, dynamic Champagne domaine. Inès designed the distinctive floral labels in tribute to her mother’s famous flower boxes, which beautifully adorn their whitewashed family home in the vineyards at the entrance to the quaint Avize village

Les Regards d’Avize lieu-dit is a tiny, highly-regarded old chardonnay plot (42.79 ares) in Avize that their grandfather, Jean Waris, managed for many years on behalf of a widow named Gilberte Oudart in Avize. Upon her death, having no children, she gifted the parcel to the Waris family in 1995. A small part of the vineyard is pre-phylloxera, and the remainder was replanted from the same low-yielding, old chardonnay clones in 1963. Les Regards d’Avize is serious and complex, with a distinct minerality, cutting structure, incredibly long finish, and surprisingly, a lot of red fruit notes for a Blancs de Blanc.

Grapes are hand-harvested and crushed by hand in a traditional 4000 kg vertical wooden basket press; only free-run juice is used for the primary fermentation. Spontaneous fermentation occurs with native yeasts in stainless steel. The base wine was aged 18 months in used 600L demi-muid Burgundy barrels and Avize Champagne barrels with spontaneous, partial malolactic fermentation before bottling. It was then aged on the lees for over seven years under natural cork (not crown cap), with hand-riddling and hand disgorgement based on the biodynamic calendar. No dosage is added, and the wine is unfiltered.

Producer Tasting Note: Elegant and long on the palate, complex with notes of citrus, pastry and dried fruit, with fine perlage and a persistent finish that invites another sip.

Producer: Waris-Larmandier

Country: France

Region: Champagne

Varietal: Chardonnay

Appellation: Champagne

Vintage: 2018

Size: 750ml