Larmandier-Bernier
Larmandier-Bernier Rosé de Saigée
2017
A distinctive Premier Cru Extra Brut rosé from Vertus, combining Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris through direct maceration for vibrant fruit, floral complexity and vinous texture.
Country
France
Region
Champagne
Scoring
More information
Producer
Larmandier-Bernier
Larmandier-Bernier is a family-owned Champagne grower based in Vertus, at the southern end of the Côte des Blancs. Its vineyards extend across Premier and Grand Cru terroirs including Vertus, Cramant, Avize, Oger and Chouilly, with Chardonnay forming more than 90% of the estate's plantings.
The domaine's identity is built around allowing individual terroirs to determine the character of its wines. Biodynamic viticulture, mature fruit, indigenous yeasts, maturation in wood and minimal intervention in the cellar form a coherent philosophy centred on purity, minerality and the expression of Champagne's chalk soils.
Quick Facts
- Producer: Champagne Larmandier-Bernier
- Location: Vertus, Côte des Blancs, Champagne
- Family winegrowing roots: 1765
- Estate: 19 hectares
- Principal grape: Chardonnay — more than 90% of the vineyard
- Viticulture: Biodynamic since 1999; organic certification since 2003
History and Identity
The histories of the Larmandier and Bernier families as winegrowers extend back to 1765, and the Larmandiers have cultivated vineyards in the Premier and Grand Cru villages of the Côte des Blancs since the nineteenth century.
The modern estate took shape in 1971, when Philippe Larmandier and his wife Elisabeth Bernier, herself the owner of vineyards in Vertus, created Champagne Larmandier-Bernier and built their cellar in Vertus.
Their son Pierre Larmandier returned to the family estate in 1988 together with his wife Sophie. Pierre progressively changed the viticultural direction of the domaine, abandoning herbicides completely in 1992 before converting the entire estate to biodynamic farming in 1999. Indigenous yeasts were introduced for fermentation at the same time, while maturation increasingly moved from stainless steel towards barrels and larger wooden vats.
The next generation is now involved. Arthur Larmandier joined in 2017, followed by his brother Georges in 2021, continuing the family's involvement into another generation.
Estate, Vineyards and Terroir
Larmandier-Bernier farms approximately 19 hectares in the Côte des Blancs.
The estate identifies holdings in:
Vertus – Premier Cru
Cramant – Grand Cru
Avize – Grand Cru
Oger – Grand Cru
Chouilly – Grand Cru
Importantly, Larmandier-Bernier states that it does not purchase grapes. The wines are produced from fruit originating from its own vineyard holdings, with the estate expanding through the acquisition of vineyards rather than bought-in fruit.
The geological foundation of the domaine is the Campanian chalk of the Côte des Blancs. Larmandier-Bernier explicitly identifies this chalk as central to the mineral character of its Champagnes.
More than 90% of the vineyard is planted to Chardonnay, and the vines average approximately 35 years of age.
These percentages describe the estate plantings, not the blend of every Larmandier-Bernier Champagne.
Viticulture
Viticulture is one of the defining elements of Larmandier-Bernier.
Pierre Larmandier abandoned herbicides completely in 1992, and the entire estate has been farmed biodynamically since 1999. The vineyards have been certified organic since 2003.
The domaine works its soils to encourage deeper rooting and preserve soil life. It emphasises mature fruit, controlled yields, old vines and massal selections originating from earlier generations of the Larmandier and Bernier families. Harvesting is carried out manually once the desired maturity has been achieved.
The objective is not biodynamics as an end in itself, but to produce grapes capable of transmitting differences between individual vineyards and terroirs.
Production and Winemaking
The same low-intervention philosophy continues in the cellar.
Fruit is gently pressed and fermentation takes place spontaneously using indigenous yeasts, a practice used by the estate since 1999. Fermentation and maturation take place in wooden vessels, including casks and Stockinger foudres.
The wines undergo prolonged maturation on their lees — the estate describes approximately 11 months in casks and wooden vats — before bottling. They are bottled without filtration or fining.
Bottle ageing then continues for several years in the domaine's chalk cellars.
Dosage is generally restrained, but we should not hard-code one dosage level at producer level. Individual wines range across Brut Nature, Extra Brut and other specific expressions, and exact dosage belongs to the individual bottle or release.
Style and Identity
Larmandier-Bernier's stylistic identity is closely connected to Chardonnay and the chalk terroirs of the Côte des Blancs.
Rather than creating a dominant house style through cellar intervention, the domaine aims to preserve distinctions between sites. The producer itself repeatedly uses purity, minerality and terroir expression to describe the objective of its wines.
For Sipfind, I would define the producer's stylistic DNA as:
Chalk → Chardonnay → maturity → purity → minerality → precision → low intervention.
That is more useful than assigning one universal tasting profile to the entire range, particularly because Larmandier-Bernier produces everything from Chardonnay-led blends to single-terroir Blanc de Blancs and Rosé de Saignée.
Portfolio
Larmandier-Bernier's current portfolio demonstrates the domaine's increasingly terroir-specific approach.
Latitude provides a Chardonnay-based expression centred on the southern Côte des Blancs.
Longitude follows the north-south axis of the Côte des Blancs and is a Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs.
Terre de Vertus is a single-terroir Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs from Vertus.
Les Chemins d'Avize is produced from two old-vine parcels in Avize and represents a singular Grand Cru expression.
Vieille Vigne du Levant is another of the estate's important terroir-specific Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs.
The range also includes Rosé de Saignée, Cramant Nature and Vertus Rouge.
Each should exist as an independent bottle entity within Sipfind, with vintage, dosage, blend, disgorgement and maturation information attached at the appropriate product or release level.
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Country
Region
Champagne
Champagne is widely regarded as the world's most prestigious sparkling wine region and has become synonymous with celebration, luxury and uncompromising quality. Located in northeastern France, approximately 150 kilometres east of Paris, the region combines centuries of winemaking tradition with exceptional terroir to produce sparkling wines of remarkable elegance and complexity. From legendary maisons to small grower-producers, Champagne represents the benchmark against which all other sparkling wines are measured, and its influence on global wine culture remains unrivalled.
The region's vineyards stretch across five principal districts: Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne and Côte des Bar. The defining characteristic of Champagne terroir is its chalk-limestone subsoil, which provides excellent drainage, mineral richness and steady water supply essential for producing grapes of exceptional quality. The cool continental climate, moderated by maritime influences, ensures slow ripening and high natural acidity, while the principal grape varieties—Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier—each contribute distinct character to the final blend. The region's 17 grand cru villages and 42 premier cru villages represent the finest expression of Champagne terroir, producing grapes of outstanding concentration and finesse.
Champagne is governed by strict AOC regulations established in 1927, which define geographical boundaries, permitted grape varieties, yields and production methods. The region is home to some of the world's most celebrated houses, including Krug, Louis Roederer, Bollinger, Dom Pérignon, Veuve Clicquot, Pol Roger, Salon, Taittinger and Moët & Chandon. These maisons have upheld the art of blending and cellar ageing for generations, producing prestige cuvées and vintage expressions that rank among the most collectible wines in the world. Alongside these historic houses, a growing number of grower-producers cultivate and vinify their own grapes, offering terroir-focused expressions that reveal the diversity and depth of Champagne's varied terroirs.
Whether exploring grand cru villages, prestige cuvées or historic maisons, Champagne offers an unparalleled journey through the birthplace of the world's finest sparkling wines. Discover Champagne Champagnes, compare prices from trusted merchants across Europe and find the best offers with Sipfind.
Grapes
Pinot Gris, internationally known as Pinot Grigio, is a versatile white wine grape capable of producing markedly different styles depending on climate, terroir and winemaking. A colour mutation of Pinot Noir, the variety develops distinctive grey-blue to pinkish skins while normally producing white wine. Its expressions range from light, crisp and mineral to rich, textured and age-worthy.
In Alsace, Pinot Gris produces some of its fullest and most complex wines. Typical aromas include ripe pear, apricot, dried fruit and subtle smoke, often accompanied by honey, beeswax and gentle spice. The wines combine weight and roundness with balancing acidity and can range from dry to richly sweet. Late-harvest Vendanges Tardives and botrytised Sélection de Grains Nobles demonstrate the variety’s capacity for concentration, complexity and extended ageing.
In northern Italy, the grape is known as Pinot Grigio and is particularly important in Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto. Italian expressions commonly show pear, green apple, citrus and white flowers, supported by refreshing acidity and a clean, dry finish. High-altitude vineyards in Alto Adige can produce precise, mineral wines, while carefully made examples from Friuli often display greater texture, depth and savoury complexity.
Although widely associated with pale white wine, Pinot Grigio’s naturally coloured skins also allow the production of traditional ramato wines. Brief contact between the juice and skins creates a copper or pale rose colour together with additional texture and subtle savoury character. This historic style illustrates the variety’s close relationship to both white and lightly skin-contact winemaking.
Beyond France and Italy, Pinot Gris is important in Germany, Oregon, New Zealand and Australia. In Germany it is known as Grauburgunder or, for some richer traditional expressions, Ruländer. Whether presented as structured Pinot Gris or refreshing Pinot Grigio, the grape’s combination of fruit purity, textural versatility and sensitivity to terroir has made it one of the world’s most widely recognised white wine varieties.
History and Style
Larmandier-Bernier Rosé de Saignée
Rosé de Saignée is Larmandier-Bernier's distinctive interpretation of rosé Champagne, produced from Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris grown together in an old-vine parcel in Vertus.
Rather than creating the colour through assemblage — blending white Champagne with red wine — Larmandier-Bernier uses the traditional saignée method, allowing the Pinot grapes to macerate directly with their skins. The result is a rosé with greater colour, fruit expression and vinous structure while retaining the freshness and precision central to the estate's style.
Quick Facts
- Producer: Larmandier-Bernier
- Wine: Rosé de Saignée
- Classification: Premier Cru
- Style: Extra Brut Rosé Champagne
- Origin: Vertus, Côte des Blancs
- Current blend: 90% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Gris
History and Identity
Rosé de Saignée emerged in 1999 as part of Larmandier-Bernier's move towards increasingly distinctive terroir expressions. The producer places its creation alongside the progression from Vieille Vigne de Cramant in 1988 and Terre de Vertus in 1995 towards increasingly singular Champagnes.
Its identity rests not only on where the grapes grow, but on how the rosé is produced.
Most rosé Champagne is made through assemblage, where red wine is added to a white base wine. Rosé de Saignée instead derives its colour, aromatics and part of its structure directly from macerating Pinot grapes with their skins.
This gives Rosé de Saignée a genuinely different role within the Larmandier-Bernier portfolio.
Vineyards and Terroir
The grapes originate in Vertus, where Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris grow together within the same old-vine parcel.
This is particularly significant within Larmandier-Bernier. Pinot varieties account for only a small proportion of an estate otherwise overwhelmingly planted to Chardonnay; in its 2025 harvest report, the producer stated that Pinot Noir represented only around 5% of its vineyard holdings.
Rosé de Saignée therefore represents a very different facet of the domaine's Côte des Blancs terroir.
For SCI, the geographical structure should be:
Champagne → Côte des Blancs → Vertus Premier Cru → old-vine Pinot parcel → Rosé de Saignée
Blend and Co-Planting
The current cuvée is:
90% Pinot Noir
10% Pinot Gris.
Importantly, Larmandier-Bernier describes the Pinot Gris as co-planted among the Pinot Noir vines rather than originating from a separate Pinot Gris vineyard.
This is a valuable entity relationship for SCI:
Primary grape: Pinot Noir
Secondary grape: Pinot Gris
Vineyard relationship: Co-planted
However, we should not hard-code 90/10 into every historical release. An older producer article documents a 2015-based release containing 96% Pinot Noir, 2% Chardonnay and 2% Pinot Gris, demonstrating that the composition has changed.
So the master product should be Pinot Noir-led with Pinot Gris, while the exact blend belongs to the individual release.
Production and Maceration
Production is where Rosé de Saignée becomes particularly distinctive.
The Pinot grapes are selected on a sorting table and partially destemmed before undergoing approximately 2–3 days of maceration.
This short period of skin contact extracts colour, aromatics and structure directly from the grapes.
Natural alcoholic fermentation follows using indigenous yeasts, with fermentation taking place in tank or concrete eggs. Malolactic fermentation follows, and the wine then matures on its lees for almost one year. Tirage takes place at the end of July.
After secondary fermentation, the bottles spend at least another two years in the estate's cellars before being disgorged approximately six months before release.
Dosage
The current producer specification is:
2 g/l dosage — Extra Brut.
As with Longitude and Latitude, the exact dosage should remain release-specific. Historical examples show different dosage levels, so Extra Brut belongs safely at master level while the numerical dosage should be attached to the relevant release whenever possible.
Style and Tasting Profile
Larmandier-Bernier describes Rosé de Saignée fundamentally through fruit and floral aromas, while direct maceration gives it a more substantial vinous character than a delicate assemblage rosé.
Current critical descriptions reinforce its combination of red-fruit character, floral elements, spice, freshness and textural richness, but those detailed tasting notes should remain release-specific rather than being copied into the master wine.
For the generic Sipfind master, I would define its stylistic DNA as:
Pinot → fruit → florality → texture → structure → freshness → precision.
This differentiates it clearly from the Chardonnay-driven mineral profile of Longitude, Latitude and the estate's Blanc de Blancs cuvées.
Position within the Larmandier-Bernier Portfolio
Larmandier-Bernier places Rosé de Saignée among its Champagnes Singuliers — wines designed around a more individual terroir or expression.
Its position within the range is unusually clear:
Latitude → Chardonnay / southern Vertus / generosity
Longitude → Chardonnay / Côte des Blancs / linear minerality
Les Chemins d'Avize → Chardonnay / Avize / old-vine Grand Cru
Rosé de Saignée → Pinot Noir + Pinot Gris / Vertus / direct maceration
It should therefore be treated as an independent product identity rather than simply the producer's “rosé version” of another cuvée.
Ageing and Serving
Larmandier-Bernier gives Rosé de Saignée substantial cellar maturation despite its fruit-driven character: nearly a year of initial lees ageing is followed by at least two additional years in bottle, with disgorgement approximately six months before commercial release.
The producer suggests it both as an aperitif and alongside foods such as tuna tartare and delicate meats, reflecting its greater structure compared with many lighter rosé Champagnes.
A fixed drinking window should not be attached to the master product; base vintage and disgorgement should determine release-specific ageing guidance.
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