July 8, 2024
Grand Cru Champagne from Larmandier-Bernier
Among the top Growers in Champagne, a select few are regarded as the pinnacle, including Jacques Selosse, Ulysse Collin, Egly-Ouriet, and today's highlight, Larmandier-Bernier.
"Today, Larmandier-Bernier numbers among the Côte de Blanc's—and Champagne's—finest estates, and with some 19 hectares of vines, their wines are happily not as hard to find as those released by the region's smallest micro-producers. All these recent and forthcoming releases are warmly recommended, and I'll be writing more about the estate in a future issue." - William Kelley, Wine Advocate
In the 1990s, Pierre and Sophie Larmandier began transforming their vineyards by abandoning herbicides and adopting organic and biodynamic farming. This innovative approach, ahead of its time, was complemented by changes in the winery, such as fermenting in wooden foudres and barrels with indigenous yeasts. Today, Larmandier-Bernier is celebrated as one of the finest estates in Côte des Blancs and Champagne, cultivating 19 hectares across grand and premier cru villages like Vertus, Oger, Avize, Cramant, and Chouilly.
Their wines are known for high ripeness and terroir-specific character, including the round and charming Latitude from Vertus and the structured Longitude from chalky soils. The estate's top wines, Les Chemins d'Avize and Vieille Vigne du Levant, come from old vines and showcase impressive structure and tension. The terroir is distinguished by its chalky soil, a key component in defining the mineral character of their wines. Facing east to southeast, the Côte des Blancs benefits from optimal sunlight, ensuring full ripeness of Chardonnay, the primary varietal used in their cuvées.
Larmandier-Bernier’s vineyards are farmed with rigorous adherence to organic and biodynamic principles, using natural remedies and preparations instead of chemicals. This deep connection to the land encourages the vines to root deeply into the chalky bedrock, drawing out nuanced complexities. Their pure, expressive, and elegantly structured Champagnes emphasize clarity, precision, and vibrancy, with fermentation in neutral oak barrels adding depth without overshadowing the wine's intrinsic character. Low dosages in the final product ensure the purity and balance of the wine
We have three Grand Cru expressions available below, for which we have details notes as well as a tasting note from William Kelley of the Wine Advocate who also adores the wines.
Larmandier-Bernier Les Chemins d'Avize Grand Cru 2014
The latest single-terroir wine, Les Chemins d'Avize, comes from two small plots right next to each other in Avize. The Larmandiers have owned these vines since the 1990s. Initially, they faced challenges in processing such a small amount of fruit with their traditional press. However, in 2009, they upgraded to two smaller presses, enabling them to press the Avize fruit separately. The 2014 vintage presents an enticing bouquet of citrus oil, freshly baked bread, white flowers, fresh mint, pastry cream, and blanched almonds. On the palate, it is full-bodied, layered, and vinous, with a precise, chiseled profile. The wine showcases racy acidity and a pronounced chalky structure, with a long saline finish. It is more powerful than Terre de Vertus but more compact than Vieille Vigne. Made from 100 percent Chardonnay, the dosage is a very low 2 grams, exemplifying the meticulous biodynamic practices and careful oak usage that define the Larmandier-Bernier style.
96 Points | Wine Advocate, William Kelley
The 2014 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize continues to show brilliantly, unfurling in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, freshly baked bread, white flowers, fresh mint, pastry cream and blanched almonds. Full-bodied, layered and vinous, it's chiseled and concentrated, with racy acids, chalky structure and a long, saline finish. This is a terrific bottle that exemplifies the Larmandier-Bernier style.
Larmandier-Bernier Levant Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru 2012
The 2012 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant is a powerful and precise wine that reveals its complexity over time.The wine is labelled as Vieille Vigne du Levant after the specific vineyard - Bourron du Levant - where the vines for this wine have always been situated. It was the first single-terroir wine produced by the Larmandiers, with the first vintage being 1988. It comes from the estate's oldest vines, which are between fifty and seventy years old, located in two adjacent plots in the Grand Cru village of Cramant. This wine delivers a rich bouquet of orange oil and pear mingled with freshly baked bread, white flowers, marzipan, and beeswax. It is full-bodied, layered, and multidimensional, with terrific concentration, racy acids, and a finely tuned chalky structure. The wine spends a year in barrels (both large and small), on its lees, and receives some gentle stirring. This process results in a fleshy, rich, and powerful expression of the Côte des Blancs. The long mineral finish highlights its origins and meticulous ageing, making it a deeply expressive and multifaceted Champagne.
97 Points | Wine Advocate, William Kelley
The 2012 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant was tightly wound when I tasted it last year, but today it is really beginning to show all its cards. Delivering a complex bouquet of orange oil and pear mingled with notions of freshly baked bread, white flowers, marzipan and beeswax, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with terrific concentration, racy acids and chalky structure. Powerful and precise, it concludes with a long, mineral finish.
Larmandier-Bernier Premier Cru Terre de Vertus Non Dose 2015
The 2015 Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Terre de Vertus continues to show well, offering generous aromas of peach, orange oil, ripe melon, white cherries, buttery pastry, and dried white flowers. This wine comes from the mid-slope on the northern side of Vertus, known for producing incredibly pure, salty, mineral wines with citric chalky notes and a touch of white pepper spice. Terre de Vertus can be subtly delicate and almost bony in its youth, but it blossoms with age in the cellar. Aged in foudres (large oak vats), this zero-dosage wine, first produced in 1995, showcases a layered and muscular profile. Full-bodied and fleshy, with a vinous character and a long, gently mordant finish, it stands as one of the more powerful wines in the Larmandier-Bernier range. This meticulous aging process highlights the unique terroir of Vertus, resulting in a distinctive and memorable Champagne.
93 Points | Wine Advocate, William Kelley
The 2015 Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Terre de Vertus continues to show well, offering up generous aromas of peach, orange oil, ripe melon, white cherries, buttery pastry, orange oil and dried white flowers. Full-bodied, layered and fleshy, with a vinous, muscular profile and a long, gently mordant finish, it's one of the more powerful wines in the range.