Larmandier Bernier

Category: Sparkling
Region: Champagne
Appelation: Champagne
Sub Region: Vertus
Grape: Chardonnay (Blanc de Blanc) and Pinot Noir (Brut Rose de Saignee)
Vintage: NV

The Larmandier family has owned vineyards in the famous Côte des Blancs region since the late 1700s. Today, Pierre Larmandier and wife Sophie continue this Champagne clan's age-old tradition, making fine sparkling wine from their premier cru vineyards in Vertus, at the southern tip of the Côte, and the grand cru Cramant to the north. Larmandier-Bernier is at the forefront of what some are calling 'the grower revolution' in Champagne, a small group of vineyard owners who are inspired by Anselme Selosse, a revolutionary vigneron whose philosophy is strictly biodynamic and of Burgundian influence. This renegade group is making their own wines, often biodynamically, or close to, and producing small-batch cuvées that reflect a particular vineyard site or village. The 15 hectares of vineyards (chardonnay and pinot noir), with an average vine age of 35 years, are meticulously cared for. The vineyards are all biodynamically managed and yields are kept scrupulously low by Champagne standards - 50 hl/ha on average.

Here at the restaurants we are carrying Blanc de Blanc from Chardonnay and Brut Rose de Saignee, made from Pinot Noir grapes. Most rosés are made by blending white wine with a little red wine from Champagne (Coteaux Champenois appellation). A rosé de saignée, on the other hand, is made by directly macerating Pinot Noirs. This method of vinification is more demanding and requires grapes with an excellent degree of maturity. This is the real rosé. The Pinots are destemmed and left to macerate for about two days before the 'bleeding' is carried out. Then come the natural alcoholic fermentation in an enamel-lined steel vat, the malolactic fermentation and the maturation on the lees during the winter. The bottling takes place in May. After being aged in the cellars, the wine is disgorged at least 3 to 6 months before being marketed with a discreet dosage (3 grams of sugar).

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