CHAMPAGNE LARMANDIER-BERNIER, France

Vertus, a 1er cru village, as well as the Grand Crus Cramant, Chouilly, Oger and Avize. According to Pierre and Sophie Larmandier, “the creation of a great Champagne, like the creation of any great wine, begins in the vineyard.” This philosophy is why they manage their vineyards biodynamically, harvesting their grapes manually at optimal ripeness to produce extraordinary expressions of each terroir. Fermentation using natural yeasts in a mixture of stainless steel vats, wooden casks and barrels, together with long, slow ageing at either Brut Nature (0 g/l) or Extra Brut (2-5 g/l) allows for the clearest of expressions.

Viticulture

Since the 19th century, the Larmandier family have been cultivating their vines in the premiers and grands crus of the Côte des Blancs. Chalk is the keystone of these great terroirs. Since 1992 they have worked the land without using chemical additions, from 1999 they have worked biodynamically and with native yeasts, and were organically certified in 2023.

Winemaking

The grapes are pressed gently. Fermentation takes place naturally (indigenous yeast) in casks and wooden vats. The wines are matured on the lees for about a year, with no racking or filtering being carried out: make wine before making bubbles! The wines are then bottled around the end of July and taken down into the coolness of the cellars, where the second fermentation takes place slowly. The bottles mature for several years.