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Larmandier-Bernier

A Gift Card from Vertus: Delightful New Disgorgements
Larmandier-Bernier

Larmandier-Bernier is in a great place. Sophie and Pierre Larmandier’s two eldest sons, Arthur and Georges, are now key team members, allowing for even more development, trials and attention to detail. Noting just a few observations from our visit last year: the reserve wines will now be held in 5,000-litre Stockinger casks; more concrete and amphora are being used; and the family is even trialling spraying biodynamic preparations by drone! We imagine this is the influence of Georges Larmandier, who joined the domaine after four years of working as an aeronautical engineer.

So, this producer keeps evolving and reaching ever-greater heights. The wines still have the energy and intense minerality they have always offered, and now there is even more depth and layered complexity. This is partly due to an increase in the lees aging cycle, which the Larmandiers now deem essential to the expression of their wines. For some time, Pierre and Sophie Larmandier have indicated their wish to age their Champagnes even longer before release, and the new underground maturation cellar grants them this opportunity.

To call out just a few of the current releases, we are now onto the 2020 base vintage of both Latitude and Longitude. Pierre Larmandier described this year as an ‘almost perfect vintage’; both wines show exceptional purity, balance and length. The 2016 Terre de Vertus is starting to blossom. A touch closed when first shipped, the wine has since exploded into life. It’s brimming with aromatic complexity and the vinous depth of this outstanding, low-yielding vintage. It is a real statement wine that should not be missed.

The Wines

Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Latitude Blanc de Blancs NV (Base 20. Disg. Feb 2023)

Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Latitude Blanc de Blancs NV (Base 20. Disg. Feb 2023)

Disgorged February 2023. Latitude is 100% Côte des Blancs Chardonnay from vineyards on the southern side of Vertus. These vineyards are on roughly the same latitude, hence the name, which also hints at the breadth of texture that wines from these sites (having more clay in the soil) tend to offer. In the cellar, Larmandier uses mostly large-format casks (almost all the wood now comes from Stockinger in Austria). Fermentation and malolactic conversion take place naturally, and there is no filtration. Bottles are matured for more than two years, are manually disgorged and dosed at low, extra-brut levels (in this case, 4 g/L) at least six months before release.

Pure and mineral, this offers texture and stone-fruited depth without sacrificing the cut-diamond precision and citrusy, chalky energy that is a given at this address. Extremely versatile at the table, both entry cuvées work with a wide range of dishes, including fish, terrines, any chicken dish (particularly lemon chicken) and most cheeses (except blue or strong washed-rind). This bottling is based on the 2020 vintage, with 40% reserve wine drawn from a ‘perpetual’ reserve started in 2004.

“The NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Latitude 1er Cru is bright, punchy and full of mineral-driven intensity. Crushed flowers, lemon peel, sage, mint and crushed rocks build as this potent, intensely saline Champagne opens in the glass. This is impressive. As always, the Latitude is a Champagne built on textural breadth and volume, typical of wines from the southern sector of Vertus.”
94 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Latitude Blanc de Blancs NV (Base 20. Disg. Feb 2023)
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Longitude Blanc de Blancs NV (Base 20 Disg. Nov 2022)

Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Longitude Blanc de Blancs NV (Base 20 Disg. Nov 2022)

Base 2020. Disgorged November 2022. Like this grower’s Latitude, this is 100% Côte des Blancs Chardonnay (the vineyards are in Cramant, Avize, Oger and Vertus), but the vineyards have thinner topsoils, so the vine roots plunge straight into the chalky bedrock. The name here refers to the vertical nature of the geographic locations of the vineyards, as well as the style of wine that comes from the chalky soils, i.e. a more linear, mineral wine.

While Larmandier’s Latitude is expansive across the palate, the Longitude is all about minerality, line and raciness. Pierre Larmandier explains that “We are aiming for more tension than in the past,” and cites his northwest facing vine Cramant as brining fresh spine to the density of his Vertus fruit. William Kelley has called this wine “one of the finest non-vintage bottlings to be found in Champagne”, and the high ratio of reserve wines (40% from their ‘perpetual’ reserve started in 2004) should leave you with little doubt as to the quality on offer.

“Based on the 2020 vintage and disgorged in November 2022, the new release of Larmandier's NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Longitude wafts from the glass with aromas of sweet citrus fruit, fresh pastry, green apple and flowers. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, its satiny attack segues into a racy, broad-shouldered mid-palate, concluding with a chalky finish.”
92 points, William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
“The NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Longitude 1er Cru is a blend taken from parcels in Vertus, Avize, Cramant and Oger that lie on the same longitudinal axis. Crushed rocks, jasmine, mint, white pepper and lemon peel race out of the glass. This taut, beautifully sculpted yet airy Champagne from Larmandier-Bernier is a winner.”
94 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Longitude Blanc de Blancs NV (Base 20 Disg. Nov 2022)
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Terre de Vertus Blanc de Blancs 2016 (Disg. Nov 2022)

Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Terre de Vertus Blanc de Blancs 2016 (Disg. Nov 2022)

Disgorged November 2022. Terre de Vertus is one of three single-terroir Blanc de Blancs produced at this estate and certainly the most famous. It is from a parcel of vines on the chalky mid-slope of Vertus, traversing the 1er Cru lieux-dits of Les Barillers and Les Faucherets. These sites produce intensely mineral wines that recall the best of Le Mesnil (to the north) in their chalky raciness and drive.

This fermented naturally, with roughly 60% fermented and aged in neutral barrique and the other 40% in large Stockinger casks. Malolactic conversion began spontaneously, and the wines were left on their lees for nearly a year. After the second fermentation, the wine aged in bottle for another six years before being disgorged. There is no dosage in order to respect the purity of the terroir. The result is one of the most distinctive and mineral wines of the entire Champagne region—and one of the benchmark wines of the great grower movement.

Since the mid-‘90s, this wine has always been non-dosé—long before it was fashionable. The Larmandiers made the decision because this particular terroir (when farmed in their way: old vines, biodynamics, low yields, etc.) works best without any additions. Still very young and brimming with textural richness and energy, the new release shows a little more flex than the previous vintage. Courtesy of an especially low-yielding year high in dry extract, the palate is buoyed with freshness and the chalky finish is incredibly long and scintillating. Try it with oysters, terrine, hard cheeses, roast chicken or grilled white fish.

Like a broad arrow, burnished, powerful, driving smoke and cracked caramel from beginning to end with tremendous purpose. Roasted oatmeal. So much density it’s almost more of a meal than a drink. Warm, gingery spices. Salt and sour butter and bitter orange peel. A wine that challenges you, broad-chested heart to rib-caged heart. A wine with rhythm, beat, purpose. All-encompassing.
17.5 / 20 points, Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
“The 2016 Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Terre de Vertus 1er Cru is fabulous. Comprised of 100%Chardonnay from two mid-slope parcels in Vertus, it is perfumed and exotic, with striking aromatics. This cuvée straddles the line between still and sparkling wine. Lime, mint, white pepper and chalk lend tons of high-toned character. The 2016 is really quite compelling. Bottled with no dosage.”
96 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Terre de Vertus Blanc de Blancs 2016 (Disg. Nov 2022)
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Rosé de Saignée NV (Base 19. Disg. Sep 2021)

Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Rosé de Saignée NV (Base 19. Disg. Sep 2021)

Base 2019. Disgorged September 2021. The Rosé de Saignée is drawn mostly from what are thought to be the oldest Pinot Noir vines in Vertus (45 years old), and one of this village’s very last 100% Pinot vineyards. In fact, the vineyard is a co-planted blend of 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Gris, with both varieties contributing to this wine. The grapes are allowed to macerate for a period of two to three days before the juice is drawn off, providing the wine’s colour and much of its body and flavour. This saignée technique is now rare in Champagne, primarily as it is a demanding method of vinification and requires grapes with an excellent degree of maturity. Most rosé in Champagne is made with the addition of a little red wine. Vive la différence! As with all Larmandier’s wines, it fermented naturally. Part of this cuvée was raised in a Nomblot concrete egg and part in stainless steel. More recently, Larmandier has also been trialling amphorae designed by Mizel Riouspeyrous from Domaine Arretxea.

It’s one of Champagne’s wow wines, repeatedly compared to a Chambolle-Musigny. In short, it’s a Champagne that can stop drinkers in their tracks. The 2019 is an exceptional release built on energy and crystalline tension. Although it drinks beautifully on its own, it has the depth to go with smoked or grilled salmon. Yes, do that—you won’t regret it! This bottling was disgorged with a discreet dosage of 2 g/L. It is a superb release that will be even better with a year or two in the cellar.

Note: This review refers to a later disgorgement “The NV (2019) Extra Brut Rosé de Saignée is beautifully cut and chiseled in this release. There's plenty of saignée Pinot intensity, but tons of energy and drive too. Crushed red berry fruit, cinnamon, blood orange, pomegranate and dried flowers flesh out over time, but it is the wine's vibrancy that I find most captivating. The 2019 is 100% Pinot Noir from 45+-year-old vines in Vertus. Dosage is 2 grams per liter. Disgorged: February, 2022.”
94 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“Based on the 2019 vintage, the new NV Extra-Brut Rosé de Saignée is a rich, gastronomic wine, delivering aromas of raspberries and cherries mingled with notions of kirsch, warm spices and petals. Medium to full-bodied, layered and fleshy, with racy acids and a pretty pinpoint mousse, it's a vinous Champagne that would work well at table.”
93 points, William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
“Larmandier made a benchmark saignée rosé full of crimson hue in 2019. Fantastic palate tension unites chalk minerality with super fine tannin structure and refreshingly invisible dosage. The fruit really pops here, presenting confident, upfront purity that carries long, primary and enticing.”
95 points, Tyson Stelzer, Champagne Guide, Edition VII
“The village of Vertus is unusual in the Côte des Blancs for playing host to a historical plantation of Pinot Noir. Here it is assembled with a little Pinot Gris by Côte des Blancs stalwarts Pierre and Sophie Larmandier into a striking, deep-cherry rosé de saignée (made by macerating the Pinot Noir skins in the juice at press). Absolutely bursting with strawberry and floral tones yet still manages to retain a linear, focused energy and supple texture that’s quite unusual for the style. A Côte des Blancs original.”
93 points, Tom Hewson, Decanter
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Rosé de Saignée NV (Base 19. Disg. Sep 2021)
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Blanc de Noirs 2015 (Disg. May 2022)

Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Blanc de Noirs 2015 (Disg. May 2022)

Disgorged May 2022. Larmandier-Bernier tends just 1.2-hectares of old-vine Pinot Noir in Vertus, grown on the southern side of the village where the soil is a little richer, with higher clay content. These vines are best known as the source for the domaine’s pioneering Rosé de Saignée. Over the years Pierre Larmandier has also made a little still wine from these vines—in the past, Vertus Rouge was as famous as the red wines of Bouzy—but, until now, never a Blanc de Noirs.

2015 was a beautiful year for Pinot Noir in Vertus, leading Larmandier to vinify a white Champagne from these grapes alongside the rosé. It’s made in the same way as the domaine’s Terre de Vertus, with the base wine naturally fermented and raised in a mixture of large cask and vat for 11 months on lees and tiraged in July 2016. Following almost six years in bottle, it was disgorged in May 2022 with zero dosage to preserve the natural richness of the Pinot Noir.

The result is wonderfully complex and vinous Blanc de Noirs. A scintillating cocktail of red apple, sour berry compote and rushing minerals introduces a powerfully structured palate balanced by a rigid spine of freshness and tense, holding grip. It’s very Larmandier and very delicious; a Champagne of exceptional detail and vinous depth. A wow wine. Unfortunately, this release is very limited, and the next vintage, from 2019, is a good four years away. Make hay while the sun shines!

The result is wonderfully complex and vinous Blanc de Noirs. A scintillating cocktail of red apple, sour berry compote and rushing minerals introduces a powerfully structured palate balanced by a rigid spine of freshness and tense, holding grip. It’s very Larmandier and very delicious; a champagne of exceptional detail and vinous depth. A wow wine. Unfortunately, this release is very limited and the next vintage, from 2019, is a good four years away. Make hay while the sun shines!

Baked sour cream, smoke and bay leaf. A powerful, bone-structured rigidity. Fennel and chalk dust and bitter rain and baobab. Pretty uncompromising. Tastes like a glacial waterfall. Maritime. No curves, no corners – a cliff face of a wine.
17+ / 20, Tamlyn Currin, Jancis Robinson.com
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Blanc de Noirs 2015 (Disg. May 2022)
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant 2013 (Disg. Sep 22)

Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant 2013 (Disg. Sep 22)

Disgorged September 2022. This Blanc de Blancs was historically labelled Vieille Vigne de Cramant. Nothing has changed save for the name, which is now inspired by the vineyard where most of the grapes come from, Bourron du Levant (planted in 1960). The balance comes from a 0.5-hectare holding in the neighbouring terroir of Le Fond du Bâteau (with 75-year-old vines).

Both plots are at the heart of Cramant’s southeast-facing slopes on the flanks of the Butte de Saran. Basking in the first rays of the morning sun, these vineyards give wonderfully ripe, layered wines. The old vines’ deep root system combines with the terroir to bring a wine of glowing density and opulence. It offers a fascinating, concentrated and stone-fruited contrast to the other Larmandier cuvées (not to mention other producers’ Cramant wines). It remains a super-mineral wine, but here you have more flesh, weight and body.

The winemaking across each of Larmandier’s single-terroir wines is similar. Here, it is spontaneous fermentation and malolactic conversion, 12 months in large Stockinger barrels and no filtration. This cuvée, however, spends at least eight years in bottle on lees. This release was disgorged with 2 g/L dosage.

Note: This review refers to a previous disgorgement. “The 2013 Extra Brut Vieille Vigne de Levant Grand Cru is a Champagne of real breadth and substance that captures the essence of these 50-70-year-old vines. Apricot, chamomile, dried flowers and a kiss of oak are all amplified. Vinous and creamy, the 2013 builds beautifully with time in the glass, showing tremendous character and pedigree. The 2013 was fermented and aged in a combination of neutral barrique and foudre. It's a super-classic Larmandier-Bernier Champagne. Dosage is 2 grams per liter. Disgorged: May, 2022.”
95 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“The Larmandier family excelled in this cooler vintage, so it's unsurprising that the 2013 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant has turned out beautifully. Wafting from the glass with notes of crisp yellow orchard fruit, brioche, white flowers, oyster shell and honeycomb, it's medium to full-bodied, deep, layered and incisive, with a tangy spine of acidity, terrific tension and a long, racy finish.”
96+ points, William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant 2013 (Disg. Sep 22)
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize 2015 (Disg. Sep 2022)

Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize 2015 (Disg. Sep 2022)

Disgorged September 2022. The Larmandier family vinifies fruit from two tiny plots in the heart of Avize (Chemin de Plivot planted in 1955, and Chemin de Flavigny planted in 1960) for this cuvée. Both are chalky parcels with very little topsoil, and both lie on the lower slopes of Avize (not far from Agrapart and Selosse’s La Fosse vineyard).

The winemaking is similar to the other cuvées, save for using smaller neutral barrels for the fermentations because of the smaller quantities of wine produced. The wines age in bottle for a minimum of five years and are then disgorged by hand with only 2 g/L dosage. It’s a stunning, racy example of Avize, a little deeper than Terre de Vertus, though more delicate and less fleshy than this grower’s Vieille Vigne du Levant.

“The 2015 Extra Brut Les Chemins d'Avize Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru is a broad, ample Champagne that reflects both vinification in wood and time on the lees. Lemon confit, marzipan, dried flowers, chamomile, sage and spice build in the glass. Powerful and resonant, with no hard edges, the 2015 is terrific. It's also a throwback to the style of the time, and one I must say I like a lot. This is a fine effort for the year.”
95 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“The 2015 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize opens in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, verbena, fresh pasty, vanilla pod and fresh herbs. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and chalky, with a vinous, rather concentrated profile and bright acids, it's a little compact out of the gates but appears to be built to age with grace.”
94+ points, William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize 2015 (Disg. Sep 2022)

“Larmandier-Bernier numbers among the Côte de Blanc's—and Champagne's—finest estates. Based in Vertus, the Larmandier family farms organically and harvest late, vinifying the resulting wines in wood. The result is vinous, elegantly muscular Champagnes that are concentrated but precise. In a region that still produces far too many meager, brittle wines, Larmander-Bernier reminds us of the plenitude and texture of which great Champagne is capable.” William Kelley, The Wine Advocate



“Pierre and Sophie Larmandier craft dramatic, vinous wines of real personality and class. Sustainable farming practices, indigenous fermentations and aging in cask are some of the cornerstones of an approach that yields distinctly potent, textured wines full of character.” Antonio Galloni, Vinous

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