Champagne, France
Varnier Fannière
Varnier Fannière is found in the Grand Cru village of Avize in the Côte de Blancs, where primarily Blanc de Blanc wines are produced. Starting in 1860, the family sold their grapes to Champagne houses such as Möet et Chandon, Pommery, and Roederer.
In 1947, Jean Fannière, decided to produce his own wine, like the many ‘grower producers.’ The family now has holdings also in the Grand Cru villages of Cramant and Oger and farms a total of 4 ha. Today the winery is run by Valerie Varnier.
The subsoil of the Côte de Blancs, where the highest quality Chardonnay in Champagne is grown, is made up of 10 m of marine rich belemnite chalk. These wines have remarkable tension in youth and are long lived, developing finesse and nuance with age.
NV Brut Grand Cru
This is the signature wine of Varnier Fannière, made from 100% Chardonnay grown in the villages of Avize, Oger, Cramant and Oiry, with vines ranging from 24 and 55 years in age. The vineyards are at 140 m with various aspects which means added complexity to the final wine.
The fruit is hand-harvested, and the whole bunches still go into a small press used by Jean Fanniere in the 1940’s. Fruit from each plot is fermented individually in small vats for the base wine prior to blending before secondary fermentation in bottle. The wine is aged on lees for around 3 years before dosing at 10 g/l of sugar (Brut).
