Armand de Brignac Brut Gold NV (10's)

Armand de Brignac cuvées derive their light, racy effervescence from the quality of our Chardonnay grapes, while Pinot Noir lends strength, boldness, and depth of palate. Finally, Pinot Meunier adds roundness, nuance, and fruitiness to the cuvées of our range. For Armand de Brignac, these grapes are selected from only the finest vineyards in La Marne, including Grand Cru - rated villages like Cramant, Avize, Oger, and Choilly, and Premier Cru towns including Ludes, Rilly-la-Montagne, Villers Allerand, Taissy, Villers Marmery, and Mareuil-sur-Ay. Harvest & Pressing In keeping with Champagne's reputation as a celebratory wine, harvest is a joyous time in the vineyards. This is the time when the grapes are finally ready for their transformation into wine. One might even say that some of the harvest revelry is imparted through the 250 million bubbles in each bottle of Armand de Brignac. The harvest generally takes place during two weeks in September, although weather sometimes dictates a change of dates. By law, all Champagne grapes must be picked by hand; for these two weeks the vineyards are filled with workers, including the members of our family, who join the house staff in the fields. At the harvest celebration, all take time to enjoy the chateau’s reserve wines, paired alongside traditional country meals. These traditions date back centuries, when our vineyards were owned and tended by King Louis XV’s officers and royalty savored the best wines made by each chateau.

Although many of Champagne’s producers now use industrial-grade, high volume presses, we employ a traditional Coquart press for Armand de Brignac. This ensures a slow and high-quality yield is extracted from our carefully hand-sorted grapes; each bottle is made from a small fraction of the first pressing of the grapes. To earn its classification as a prestige cuvée, Armand de Brignac is made from the most exquisite, richest wine from each harvest. This enables the Champagne to become more complex and subtle as it ages. Blending & Ageing After the grapes are pressed, our chateau's father-and-son oenologues create the signature blends that embody the quality and uncompromised individuality of Armand de Brignac. For each bottling, three distinct vintages from outstanding harvest years are blended together to comprise the final cuvée. The art of blending Champagne varietals and vintages is the most important part of the craft, and allows our winemakers to preserve the house's character from year to year. When our master oenologues have achieved the perfect formula, Armand de Brignac is bottled by one craftsman using a traditional device. Although this painstaking process limits our output, it enables our expert artisans to ensure that each bottle of Armand de Brignac meets the highest standards of quality and craftsmanship. After our Champagne has been bottled and sealed, the bottles are stored in a special gated section of the cellars designated for its ideal conditions for ageing these blends. Descending more than 119 steps (over 30 meters) underground, the cellars are considered among the deepest in Champagne and maintain a constant cool temperature conducive to the slow, natural ageing process necessary to create the extraordinary and subtle character of Armand de Brignac. Remuage & 

Dégorgement: After ageing for four to five years in the chalk cellars, the bottles are placed in traditional wooden racks to undergo remuage – a centuries-old riddling process. During remuage, each vessel is turned slightly by hand every day to sift out the sediment which settles in the bottlenecks. A full month of gradual riddling is necessary to completely and perfectly purify the wine without disturbing its natural ageing process.

“Bright gold with a strong bead. Highly perfumed bouquet displays pear, nectarine, honeysuckle and sweet butter, plus an undercurrent of spice, ginger and lemon pith adding energy. Fleshy pit fruit and soft citrus flavors provide very good palate coverage and offer pungent spice and candied floral qualities on the back end. Nervy minerality adds lift and cut to the long, gently smoky and subtly sweet finish, which leaves candied orange peel and floral notes behind.” -Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar