NV Varnier-Fanniere Cuvee Saint Denis

There is a more rounded approach with the NV Champagne Cuvée Saint Denis Brut, with lemon curd, pastry cream, and baked green apples. This continues to the palate, with a rounded sweetness of apple pie, yellow flowers, and a broadness and expansiveness on the palate. This might be my favorite in the range, as it is balanced in its opulence and has a lot of decadent charm. Drink now or over the next 10-15 years.

The October 2019 disgorgement of Varnier-Fannière's NV Brut Grand Cru Cuvée Saint-Denis continues to show very nicely, revealing aromas of ripe citrus fruit, yellow apple, fresh apricot, wheat toast and marzipan, followed by a full-bodied, broad and powerful palate that's elegantly fleshy and nicely concentrated. It's an expressive, textural Champagne that exemplifies the house style.

Varnier-Fanniere’s NV Brut Cuvee Saint Denis Disg. 5/2013 originates in a single plot of septuagenarian vines in Avize, two-thirds of which have unfortunately since been ripped out, so that future installments of this cuvee will incorporate one or two additional sources. Black tea smokiness complements a somehow dark sense of things mineral, and tangy apple is reinforced in its invigorating crunch by piquantly vegetal and nutty allusions to lentil and other legume sprouts, making for a juicy, piquant and prominently mineral – not to mention long – finish. I relish the contrast and balance offered by such energetic impingement with a texture as fundamentally polished as is that exhibited here. If this had finished with the pressure usually associated with Champagne, then that particular charm and fascination might have been missed. This should prove worth following for at least 3-4 years. Denis Varnier farms only ten acres of vines but is clearly meticulous and inventive in his efforts to express their potential, which given a high percentage of unusually old vines in the “grand cru” terroirs of Avize and Cramant (with smaller holdings in Oger, and Oiry) should indeed be formidable. Varnier aims for lower-than-usual pressure; he micro-oxygenates his base wines as a means to inter alia reduce the use of sulfur; and he lets them undergo malo-lactic transformation, all techniques that tend toward promoting silken or creamy textures. But the wines I tasted are far from cuddly, displaying plenty of energy and refreshment and in some instances even an austere expression of things mineral. With the exception of the 8% of red wine from Ambonnay purchased to created his rose – which on this occasion I found surprisingly blurry and simple – all of Denis Varnier’s wines are exclusively Chardonnay; but for whatever reason – and although the word “Grand Cru” always appears there – he does not denote “Blanc de Blancs” on their labels. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300