Vanessa

9.2

So delicious and characterful 🍾🍾🥂🥂

Some notes after we visited this Champagne Grower-Producer last fall:

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This is a family-owned and managed winery, responsible for growing all of the grapes used to produce their champagne. 🍇

All of their vineyards are located in Premier Cru and Grand Cru villages within the Côte des Blancs. The Côtes des Blancs appellation is known especially for Chardonnay grapes, which tend to have a lighter, more delicate style of wine. Larmandier-Bernier’s blends are made predominantly from Chardonnay with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier playing supporting roles. 🌸🌸

We had a tour of the cellar and winemaking facilities. Most of Larmandier-Bernier’s wines are vinified in Austrian (delicately toasted) oak vessels of various sizes. 🪵

These vessels allow a little oxygen to interact with the wine, which can enhance richness, development of aromas/ flavors, and complexity. The wines also undergo malolactic fermentation for some of the same reasons, but also to soften the acidity, given Chardonnay is a neutral grape and can have higher acidity in a cool climate like Champagne. 👍👍

The vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically, in fact this family was one of the first to bring biodynamic farming practices to the region after experiencing delicious wines made using these practices from Alsace.

Our favorite wine of the tasting was the 2015, non-dosage, Terre de Vertus - it was so unique; a beautiful wine with a lot toasty, brioche, almond, marzipan, and round orchard fruit notes. 👏👏👏

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Now we’re tasting the 2010 Vintage Terre de Vertus and we’re equally enthralled. SO DELICIOUS. — 5 days ago

with Deked1

Willie Carter

9.0

Tasting this again and it’s even better the second time around. Medium gold with sparse, teeny tiny bubbles. Exquisite creaminess and richness which surpasses the effervescence. The nose is a bit stunning with light touches of warm, toasty bread and lychee. Lovely citrus fruit is a constant and consistent throughout this Blanc de Blancs. White blossoms and lemon zest. Slivered almonds as a faint whisper. Intoxicating.

Produced at a lower pressure than the majority of champagnes and aged for three years, this is a wine of pure finesse. It’s so elegant and magisterial. So smooth and delicate. Pure Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs and three Grand Cru villages of Cramant, Chouilly, and Oiry. Based mainly on the 2015 vintage with the balance from the previous, there is a definite sense of maturity here.

Fresh, fruity and graceful on the attack. Fresh herbs and chalky minerality. Baked breads shine through along with green apples and roasted nuts. A tremendous amount of bright citrus goodness that just goes on and on and on. Drink now. Or wait. You really can’t go wrong. Nowhere near the peak of its powers, but so luxurious right now. — a month ago

Josh Morgenthau

9.3

Quite good. Powerful, pungent, oxidative. Long acids through the finish. More time would certainly not hurt, but drinking very well now. — 21 days ago

Josh Morgenthau

9.3

What a delicious bottle. Super expressive light yellow fruits- pear, kiwi, pawpaw, banana, also with a beguiling spiciness, almost a curry spice, and slight nuttiness reminiscent of clean sous voile wine. Psycho accessibility, perfectly integrated dosage. Long mineral finish. — 7 hours ago

Mario Vaillancourt

9.2

Fruits blancs, pommes, très frais, bulles fines, un petite touche crémeuse, délicieux. 92-93
Gorgeous Champagne, creamy, tight bubble, fresh and classy. — 4 days ago

Mario Vaillancourt

9.2

Floral et fruits blancs au nez, une bouche équilibrée toute en finesse, classe et élégance, sans être riche, possède une très belle texture, super bon en ce moment.92-93

Some floral and white fruit hints in the nose, very balanced wine with classe and elegance, finesse rather then weight but still has enough richness, very good right now. — 4 days ago

Vanessa

9.0

LOVELY, elegant, brut, rosé Champagne made with 50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir grapes, hailing predominantly from the Premier Cru Village of Vertus, along with other Premier Crus.

Light pink hue, like these spring tulips 🌷, with a fine mousse, and nose of raspberry, yellow apple, white blossom, almond, biscuit, brioche, and wet stone. The palate is consistent with the nose.
— a month ago

with Deked1

Joe Gonzalez

9.6

Definitely ordering this ASAP! Somehow smooth and dry, but not overly dry. Great, great find! — 17 days ago

Josh Morgenthau

9.6

I’m having trouble finding anything wrong with these bubbles- they are the perfect combination of yeastiness and sweetness of a cake with an extraordinary butter frosting, and a fruit compote on the side. Serious structure, and a little bitterness creeping in only at the finish. — 12 days ago

Ian Hamel

9.2

222/5/4 with sushi. L02B02. Lemon, honey, brioche, chalk - everything is here, with a bit more depth and richness than I remember it having 5-10 years ago. For me, this is THE classicist, brut blanc de blancs standard cuvée. It’s so great to have a wine like this reasonably available and reasonably priced. — 22 days ago