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Gérard Bertrand unwraps Aigle Impérial 2015 Crémant de Limoux
Winemaker Gérard Bertrand has launched his latest cuvée, Aigle Impérial 2015 Crémant de Limoux, to showcase the Languedoc terroir of southern France.
Available at Selfridge’s, wine shops, restaurants and the producer’s online store, Gérard Bertrand has turned to Limoux for his latest sparkling expression. The vintage expression combines a strong year with limestone terroir and Bertrand’s well-honed winemaking.
The 2015 season was characterised by an early bud break and a mild spring, which led to high yields for the compny. Summer brought a hot, dry July, which was then balanced by cool breezes and thunderstorms in August. The weather patterns, according to the producer, meant grapes balanced aromatic richness, freshness and vitality, and so opened the door to longer ageing.
Gérard Bertrand and his team saw the cuvée’s potential from the first fermentation. After multiple tastings, the 2015 vintage was chosen and laid to laths for extended ageing. The certified organic Crémant de Limoux was released nine years after as a ‘testament of time and vision.’
Aigle Impérial 2015 owes its character to the Haute Vallée de l’Aude terroir, where the limestone-rich soils and an altitude of 400-450 meters have long produced grapes for sparkling wines. The terroir is said to produce grapes of purity, perfect for extended ageing on laths. The result is an Aigle Impérial 2015 with ‘complexity, tension, and an elegant, refined character’.
The sparkling wine is a blend of 70% Chardonnay, 5% Chenin Blanc, and 25% Pinot Noir, hand-harvested in September. The grapes were chosen for their balance of sugar and acidity.
After a gentle pressing, the juice was fermented in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks for the first fermentation. Under Gérard Bertrand’s guidance, blending became the decisive step in creating the vintage.
The second fermentation, prise de mousse, unfolded in the bottle over six weeks. In 2024, disgorgement was completed, and the expedition liqueur (3 g/l) was added, yielding a brut nature with a ‘fresh, refined, and sophisticated’ character.
Aigle Impérial is now available at Selfridges for £200 and in wine shops and fine restaurants. The 2015 vintage is also available online at the winery’s website for €149 (£124).