Champagne Larmandier Bernier su Jancis Ronbinson

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)