Larmandier Bernier Longitude Blanc de Blancs NV

A captivating wine, blended from four of chardonnay's most beguiling villages, sharing roughly the same 'Longitude.'  As always, it's the tremendous chalk minerality of these terroirs that is the most engaging, gliding long and seamless from start to finish, utterly defying the lesser 2011 base vintage in a manner that very few other growers and houses have pulled off.  Stunning purity of lemon and apple is backed by the complexity and appeal of bottle age in notes of brioche, biscuits and toast, seamlessly connected by a focused, tense acid line.  In recent tastings, notes of red apple and starfruit have begun to materialise, accurately encapsulating the subtle exoticism of Vertus.  TYSON STELZER The Champagne Guide 2016-2017