Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize 2016 (Disg. Sep 24) castro-ventosa on a very steep south-east

on a very steep south-east facing slope which benefits from hot days and cool nights

bracing acidity and a long

Pressing off and barrelling down into French oak barriques (20% new)

While its elegance is accessible now with decanting

almond nose

Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize 2016 (Disg. Sep 24) castro-ventosa on a very steep south-eastLes Chemins dAvize debuted in 2009. For this cuve, the Larmandier family vinifies fruit from two tiny plots in the heart of Avize (Chemin de Plivot, planted in 1955, and Chemin de Flavigny, planted in 1960). Both are chalky parcels with very little topsoil and lie on the lower slopes of Avize, not far from Agrapart and Selosses La Fosse vineyard. Initially, it was really tough for the vines to grow here, the soil is so hard, Arthur Larmandier told us.