November 2023
94/100 – NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Longitude 1er Cru
The NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Longitude 1er Cru is a powerful, ample wine. The Longitude builds beautifully in the glass, creamy and textured, with tons of resonance. Pear, white pepper, dried flowers, mint, and chalk are all delineated in a Champagne that blends power and tension. This is all class. Dosage is 3 grams per liter. Disgorged: February 2023.
92/100 – NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Latitude 1er Cru
The NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Latitude 1er Cru is bright and beautifully focused. The Latitude contains 40% perpetual reserve wine dating back to 2004. It is usually a bit more approachable on release, but this year’s version clearly needs time to soften. Today, citrus, floral and mineral notes abound on the steely finish. Dosage is 3 grams per liter. Disgorged: February 2023.
96/100 – 2016 Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Terre de Vertus 1er Cru
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. Disgorged: November 1, 2023.
95/100 – 2015 Extra Brut Les Chemins d’Avize Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
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. Dosage is 2 grams per liter. Disgorged: September 1, 2022.
94/100 – 2015 Brut Nature Blanc de Noirs 1er Cru
The 2015 Brut Nature Blanc de Noirs 1er Cru is a new wine in this range that emerges from the deeper clay soils found in the southern part of Vertus. A brawny, potent Champagne, the Blanc de Noirs is endowed with tons of depth and some angularity that needs time to soften. It will be interesting to see where this goes in more favorable years. Zero dosage. Disgorged: May 2022.
92/100 – NV (2020) Extra Brut Rosé de Saignée
The NV (2020) Extra Brut Rosé de Saignée is a pretty wine. Cinnamon, spice, crushed rose petals and dried herbs all grace this nuanced, understated Champagne. In this release, the Rosé is distinctly aromatic and savory (although it was done with fully destemmed fruit). The blend also incorporates 10% Pinot Gris and, of course, the hand of the current generation, brothers Arthur and Georges Larmandier. The 2020 is decidedly on the lighter side for this bottling. Dosage is 2 grams per liter. Disgorged: February 2023.
10 May 2024 by Tamlyn Currin
Grower champagnes tasting showcased by Lea&Sandeman
17 Larmandier-Bernier, Latitude Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Premier Cru NV Champagne
Certified organic and biodynamic. Spontaneous fermentation.
Smells so fresh! Peaches and grapefruit and Buddha’s hand citrus. Intensely, fragrantly citric. Pure, singing like a soprano. Tiny bubbles tap dance white-pepper pertness into the ever-so-slightly smoky finish. It really seems to float. (TC)
17 Larmandier-Bernier, Longitude Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Premier Cru NV Champagne
Certified organic and biodynamic. Spontaneous fermentation.
More peachy, less citrusy than Latitude. It’s deeper toned, too, with a narrowed focus – cello timbre and walnuts. Silky with a nut-skin bitterness. A beautiful vibrato finish. Long and true. (TC)
17,5 Larmandier-Bernier, Terre de Vertus Blanc de Blancs Non Dosé Premier Cru 2016 Champagne
Certified organic and biodynamic. Spontaneous fermentation.
Creamy, tangy, coddled-yogurt richness. Dense and weighty, with layers and layers of richness: brûléed cream and cobnuts, honey and baked feta in pastry. Fascinating sprinkle of dried oregano grace notes. A kaleidoscope of flavour and texture tucked within a very firm, square frame. Linear, smoky end. Serious and magnificent. (TC)
18 Larmandier-Bernier, Les Chemins d’Avize Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Grand Cru 2015 Champagne
Certified organic and biodynamic. Vinified in oak casks and vats.
I love the herby aromatic dancing-away top notes of this wine – it’s like breathing in a handful of napeta and lavender. Quite white-wine-like; it reminds me a little of an aged, barrel-fermented Lugana! Concentrated, the fruit buried deep, and thrumming with urgent life and power. Bouquet garni, wild flowers, quince skin and lime leaf. Flint and petrol contours shape the long-lasting finish. (TC)
18,5 Larmandier-Bernier, Vieille Vigne du Levant Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Grand Cru 2014 Champagne
Certified organic and biodynamic. Spontaneous fermentation, vinified in wood. Only just released.
It’s an almost indescribable wine. It’s rich and smoky and broad and powerful but it’s also none of those things. There is fruit and spice and stones but you couldn’t pick them out if you tried. It’s utterly complete. Without beginning, without ending. It has a heartbeat, a drum, a rhythm that feels like a pulse. It’s a wine that leaves you scrambling for words and then giving up, to simply breathe it in. (TC)
17 Larmandier-Bernier, Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature Premier Cru 2015 Champagne
Certified organic and biodynamic. 100% Pinot Noir from Ambonnay. Larmandier-Bernier’s first Blanc de Noirs.
Grippy and phenolic and chewy. It’s all pith and peel and tension. Last year I described it as a ‘cliff face of a wine’ and I’ll stand by that. It’s spitting salt and lime peel and green nut skin. It’s more like a red wine in terms of structure. Pair with steak! (TC)
17.5 Larmandier-Bernier, Rosé de Saignée Extra Brut NV Champagne
Certified organic and biodynamic. Fruit from Vertus.
A very dark colour – almost red. Roses and rose-hip fragrance. This is exactly like the love child of Chiaretto and vermouth. Bitter orange, sour cherry, maraschino, blood orange and cinnamon. Nothing delicate about this spirited, audacious wine. Thrilling. (TC)
– Champagne Larmandier-Bernier in Lonely Planet France guidebook –
By Nicola Leigh Stewart
Around a one hour drive south from Reims in Vertus is Champagne Larmandier-Bernier, where Arthur Larmandier and his brother are continuing the organic practices that their father started back in the 1980s. With almost all of the biodynamic vineyards located in the Côte des Blancs, the house focuses on chardonnay and harvests when the grapes are mature to produce the collection of low and zero dosage wines. Unlike most other houses, Champagnes here are vinifed in oak (except for the reserve wines), and Arthur likes to play around with barrel size to give different levels of oxidation.
Tatler Dining Malaysia’s Sommelier of the Year is DC Restaurant’s general manager
By Katelyn Tan , April 15 2024
The current wine pairing offered with DC Restaurant’s seasonal tasting menu begins with none other than a Champagne. “We always begin with bubbles to start the evening, and we currently feature Champagne Larmandier-Bernier,” he says. The Blanc de Blancs is made from the single grape varietal, Chardonnay: “The grapes used to make this bottle come from four different plots that are all in the same longitude.”
Larmandier-Bernier, una bodega familiar dedicada a la producción de champán ecológico
Jorge Haro Larrea 15/03/2024
En el universo vinícola francés, el nombre Larmandier-Bernier aparece con una frecuencia cada vez mayor. Este destacado viñedo familiar de la región de Champagne se ha ganado el reconocimiento en todo el mundo por sus sublimes botellas de burbujas. Desde el comienzo de su viaje en 1988 – cuando Sophie Larmandier empezó a gestionar la finca junto a su esposo, Pierre – la pareja ha llevado el domaine
El compromiso de los Larmandier-Bernier con la biodiversidad
Para Sophie y Pierre, el matrimonio fue también el comienzo de su revolución vinícola. Alentados por su compromiso con la viticultura sostenible, los Larmandier-Bernier se distanciaron de las técnicas de vinificación química y adoptaron una filosofía de cultivar viñas saludables para obtener vinos de calidad. Siguiendo los pasos de viticultores famosos como Leflaive y Pierre Morey, obtuvieron en 2003 la certificación de viticultura orgánica. Desde 1999, han incorporado prácticas de viticultura biodinámica y ahora utilizan fermentaciones con levaduras indígenas.
Además, para elaborar sus famosos champagnes, cada parcela se recolecta y vinifica de forma separada. El don de singularidad de los Larmandier-Bernier no se detiene ahí. Desde 2017, su hijo Arthur se unió a ellos en la finca, sseguido por su segundo hijo, Georges, en 2021.