2014 Larmandier-Bernier Les Chemins d'Avize Grand Cru Extra Brut, Champagne

The Larmandier family vinify fruit from two tiny plots from at the heart of Avize (Chemin de Plivot planted in 1955, and Chemin de Flavigny planted in 1960) for this cuvée. Both are highly chalky parcels with very little topsoil, and both lie on the lower slopes of Avize (not far from Agrapart and Selosse’s La Fosse vineyard).
 
The winemaking is similar to the other cuvées, save for the use of smaller, neutral barrels for the fermentations, necessitated by the smaller quantities of wine produced. The wines age in bottle for a minimum of five years and are then disgorged by hand with only two grams dosage per litre. It’s a stunning, racy example of Avize, a little deeper than the Terre de Vertus, although more delicate and less fleshy than the Vieille Vigne du Levant.
 
The 2014 Extra Brut Les Chemins d'Avize Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru is fabulous. Rich, ample and potent, the 2014 possesses tremendous density from start to finish. Apricot, spice, dried flowers, graphite and lemon confit all build in a Champagne of enormous resonance. The pedigree here is evident. Chemins d'Avize is a blend from the Chemin de Plivot and Chemin de Flavigny lieux-dits. It was vinified in neutral oak and bottled with dosage of two grams per liter.

95 points Antonio Galloni vinous.com

Larmandier-Bernier's 2014 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize is still tightly wound, unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, crisp yellow orchard fruit, almond paste, vanilla pod and freshly baked bread. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and complete, it's deep and concentrated, with ripe but racy acids and a pretty pinpoint mousse, concluding with a long, chalky finish. This is a more charming, immediate rendition of this cuvée than its 2013 predecessor, but it will still reward at least a few years on cork.

96 points, William Kelley robertparker.com