Larmandier-Bernier

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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