Larmandier, Signe Francois Blanc de Blancs Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru

nose - stewed apple, hint of mint moth - quite vinous, quince, bitter finish. substantive

2008 vintage

Hasn’t changed much in the 3 years since my last bottle. It has a slightly oxidative character to it. Pear and apple both in the nose and the palate. A good freshness in spite of the oxidative note, with butterscotch towards the finish. Interesting and enjoyable.

2008 vintage

It was a good bottle but didn’t reach the heights of previous experiences. A mature Blanc de Blancs, with bruised apple and brioche dominating, plus some oxidative nuttiness. It has lost some energy and freshness. This was just the first 2008 I’ve had that didn’t need more time, it was the first I thought had peaked and slightly declined. Hoping it was just this bottle, as I have more in the cellar.

2008 vintage

Taking on the perfections of maturity. Integrated coffee and nougat melded into classic BdB expression. Excellent Champagne by any measure.

2008 vintage

Champagne & Sushi (Suishin, North Oaks, MN) : Light gold color. Drank a glass over 30 minutes. Perfumed, Mer lemon, tangerine peel, powdery apply, chalk, river rock, sublte oxidative notes, but this is really bright to counter that well. Love the acid too. Really nice with a ot of class. 93+pt.

2008 vintage

Okay bottle at best. Spice driven - next to the 2012 Comtes, hard to tell this was all BdB. I’ve had the bottle since release, so it wasn’t heat damaged, but I can say I was less impressed than I expected to be based on recent reviews.

2008 vintage

"Strawberry farts" (Chicago, IL) : A new bottling to me. Comes off a little uneven, with the acidity too much relative to a surprisingly tart quality to the fruit given the vintage. Feels almost like a little bit of a low-intervention wine to me; not particularly keen on it.

2015 vintage

Delicious and on point. Sugar not completely integrated, but this feels like a fine time to tuck into these given the softening structure. Funny how we all were told these were brut nature, and yet almost without fail marveled at the amount of fruit and "natural" sweetness. Perhaps we should trust our palates a little more. I'd love to taste the zero version of this though!

2008 vintage

Bookclub (Foretti's) : Blind: this bottle was enjoyed by the others, but not so much by me. It had a sweet lemony note to it and very low effervescence. They one point went back to it thinking that it might be a still wine. Very light yellow color.

2008 vintage

Bookclub (served blind)--Steve (Foretti's in Corona Del Mar) : No back label info with this bottle. Smells citrusy, same in the palate with a spicy note wrapped around the lime. I jotted down too that there was some caramel here, so assume some barrel elevage? Jasmine, long swath of lime in the finish, almost a lime candy. Pretty good concentration.

2008 vintage

Bookclub (Steve) : Golden color, just slightly lighter than the Lassaigne tasted right before it. On the nose, something like key lime pie and fresh apple. Dense, mouth filling, on the palate fresh apple, lemon curd, and ripe green pear that then morphs into almond candied apple. On the finish, I'm getting something like toast with sugared toast. Round. Based on the written description, it doesn't seem up my alley, but it came across quite nicely that evening.

2008 vintage

Jimmy's & Leo's Annual Oysterfest. Unique gathering of longtime Greek friends of host + DM, BT & me. My last and drinking great tonight! This isn't far off big name Tete Cuvee champagnes. Layers of dense sappy fruit w/ apple, lemon, pear buttressed by excellent minerality. This has it all; energy, richness & finesse. Classy and so tasty! Nothing out of place.

2015 vintage

Quite delicious - a little leesy, a little mature, and a little round sweetness.

2008 vintage

This was solid. Paired wirh salmon.

2008 vintage

Larmandier's Tete Cuvee with old vine fruit mostly from Cramant. This producer seems to ride mostly below the radar even though this cuvee is really impressive & delicious. Said to be zero dosage and yet is very mouthcoating and intense w/ a sense of richness to its bold flavors. Enjoyed at our son in laws birthday dinner. Paid $60 and does offer the intensity, concentration and purity of wines twice its price. 1 of 5 left. Preferring freshness, I'll drink …

2015 vintage

Nuits-Saint-Georges and Riesling - Q by Peter Chang (Q by Peter Chang - Bethesda, Maryland) : Medium expressive nose displaying ripe yellow fruit, lemon curd, baked apple, sour apple, marzipan, sweet spices and mineral. Medium concentration, subtle sweet yellow fruit, medium fine medium generous mousse, bright acidity, medium mineral and a medium long subtle ripe yellow fruit driven finish.

2008 vintage

Can't add much to my last note. Gorgeous wine. Its showing more lean bodied than in 2019 which shouldn't really surprise. Great complexity that puts it up there with plenty of tete de cuvees. Showing some more mature notes now which raises it a touch. More sweetness than you would ever expect given the dosage. That speaks to the quality of the fruit. (kicks self for not buying more at $60)

2008 vintage

Creamy, rich, with firm acidity. Drinks well, but the best is yet to come for my preferences. Showed best from a broad glass (Sensory) many hours after opening. Will try to hold off 2-3 years before opening another.

2008 vintage

Loved this. Others' recent TNs capture it well (along with CHABLIS28's TNs). Drank over two nights, spaced a night apart. The first night it showed a little bite on the entry before quickly revealing a creamy, rainwater soft midpalate leading to a long finish. Citrus and apple and a thread of earthiness joined by a touch of salinity (iodine?) and some caramel apple. Fine bubbles. On the second night it was still excellent, but had lost a bit of its …

2008 vintage

Golden delicious apples, lemon curd, brioche, rich

2008 vintage

P&P, corkage at a restaurant. A new grower to me, and one I'll purchase again. A delicious, exotic BdB. There's an equal mix of citrus and orchard fruit (apple, pear), a little oxidative nuttiness, but fresh. It's so good, I'm not sure whether I should shout out loud about it or to keep it on the down-low.

2008 vintage

nose - apple mouth - apple cider, sweet tasting seems like quite some dosage going on in this Brut. drank next next to a zero-dosage which really drove the point home. this was pleasurable but sweeter than i prefer

2008 vintage

Well aged with strong aromas of pear and apple. The palate has citrus, apple, yeast, and a little nuttiness on the long finish. Beautifully balanced and delicious.

2008 vintage

Absolutely phenomenal. One of my favorite champagnes ever. I'm surprised by the comments regarding it tasting too young and needing food, I didn't find that at all. Very pear/apple fruity with aged notes adding complexity and great acid balance with solid structure.

2008 vintage

Consistent with other bottles but maybe not the best bottle. Was really interesting to have it next to Delamotte Brut which has something like 9 g/l dosage. This was at once fruitier on the nose but starkly drier on the palate.

2008 vintage

this is excellent. bread dough, lemons, yellow apples, crushed nuts, and chalk. very long on the finish.

2008 vintage

Showing some aged character on the nose, this surprises with an interesting mix of mineral and bright citrus zest on the palate. Quite tart and with more tannin than any champagne I can recall. This drinks very young and really needs a food pairing to shine today; I think I will appreciate it more with additional bottle age.

2008 vintage

Annual Wine Group Summer Event - BBQ Brisket at Siggy's (Siggy & Jenny's Place, Mpls, MN) : Small tasting pour. Brief note; very solid again, tons of minerality, tart citrus and tart pear, plenty of chalk and an oxidative style. Youthful and bold, will be better in a couple years

2008 vintage

Corton Rouge Burgs on a Summer Night (Martina, Mpls) : Light medium gold color. Drank a glass over 30 minutes. Pear, spice, bitters, yeasty, honey, quite spicy, dense and full bodied. This is a bigger, bold style with a little oxidative edge to it. There's a lot going on here - good stuff.

2015 vintage

Nother delicious btl. Fun contrast with the 08 Veuve Clicquot. Tonight I enjoyed the '08 Clicquot Ponsardin slightly more.

2015 vintage

Producer's Tete Cuvee & convincing it is! Layers of dense sappy fruit w/ apple, lemon, pear buttressed by excellent minerality. You'd never guess this has zero dosage and it bold flavors & concentration are anything but austere. This has it all; energy, richness, finesse & balance. A stunning & terrific value. 93+ First of likely 3 nights of sipping.

2015 vintage

My btl tonight on the patio at St Gens Minneapolis. Taking advantage of cool but lovely Fall night. There are many many champagnes hovering around that $60 price point and this is not only one of the best but one of the closest to the $120+ big gun Tete Cuvees. Layers of dense sappy fruit with apple, lemon, pear buttressed by excellent minerality. This has it all; energy, richness, finesse and balance. All stunning and terrific value. Drank through my …

2015 vintage

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Larmandier, Signe Francois Blanc de Blancs Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru

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