Biodynamics whilst increasingly accepted and embraced, still often draws raised brows with its mere mention, with still a good deal of people in the wine scene rather skeptical as to its more spiritual and astrophysical accents, and yet on the other side of the coin the majority of its practitioners will comfortably dispel any preconceived notions that they buy into that part - for them biodynamics is simply about creating the healthiest vineyards through as natural as possible an approach, so as to deliver the best wines that truly encapsulate its terroir. When framed that way, it's not difficult in the slightest to get behind.

And when it comes to Champagne, it is none other than the Larmandier-Bernier house that has ushered the practice into this hallowed region.

[Pictured above are Pierre and Sophie Larmandier]

Primarily based around the Cote des Blancs, famed for its chalky soils and Chardonnay, with 18 hectares of certified organic vineyards all the way from Vertus (their home) to the Grand Crus of Avize, Cramant, Oger and Chouilly, the Larmander-Bernier family was formalised through the marriage of Philippe Larmandier and Elisabeth Bernier which brought the vineyards of both sides of the families together in 1971. The estate has since gone through the hands of two generations of Larmandier's, first Pierre (who took over from his parents in 1988) and his wife Sophie, with now their sons Arthur and Georges having joined them, together continuing to work the vines and make the wines as is true grower Champagne fashion. Yet going back just a little further, the two families trace their winegrowing roots to as early as 1765, with the Larmandier's in Vertus and the Bernier's in Avize.

Where Philippe had made classically styled Champagnes and had even begun to grow a reputation for the house, it was his son Pierre who would together with his wife Sophie put Larmandier-Bernier on the map.

Pierre Larmandier just wants you to taste his terroir.

“My parents made wine that was fine and elegant, but it was just fine and elegant, without depth. With their enologist, they were always trying to make something with less taste. And I said, ‘That’s too bad.’” said Pierre in an interview with Wine Spectator.

After pursuing a degree in Business, Pierre, together with his wife would take over the estate in 1988 and had made it their mission for their Champagnes to truly express its terroir. For Pierre, there was little sense in making more of the same Champagnes that were already well supplied by the region, whilst at same time residing in the narrow Cote des Blanc ridge seemed to strike a sense of unrealised potential given the region's deep chalky soils that were unique in what it could bring to the wines made there. Pierre had also come to befriend Anselme Selosse's (who many consider the touchstone for the grower Champagne movement) assistant at the time, one Jerome Prevost, who too would carve for himself cult status as the Prince of Meunier via his La Closerie Champagnes, which had put Pierre right at the forefront of the pioneering grower Champagne producers. Together they would rigorously question what it meant to express terroir and experiment with various methods to achieving such a quality.

Larmandier-Bernier's vineyards teem with life.

Pierre and Sophie's conclusion was that in order to make good sparkling wine, one would first have to start with making good wines, which by extension also meant starting the pursuit for quality in the vineyards. They would first start with the elimination of herbicides use by 1992, eventually transitioning fully to organic farming, and then by 1999, they would completely move into biodynamics, having been inspired after a trip to none other than Burgundy's Domaine Leflaive (famed for its pioneering adherence to biodynamics). Yet Pierre remains clear that his move into biodynamics was firmly rooted in trying to better extract terroir to his wines, having reflected that his experience at Domaine Leflaive convinced him that "It was really there that we realized you could do something serious with biodynamics,... that it was more than just people who wanted to talk about the sky and all that.” This has meant great biodiversity in the vineyards with cover crops encouraged, a predominant use of manual labor and horse drawn ploughing, with also the use of lunar cycles as a guide for vineyard operations.

This was nothing short of unprecedented in Champagne where even today only 4% of vines in the region are farmed organically and only 2% farmed biodynamically - and not without reason. "It’s not the driest place on earth,... we started using organic products in 1995, and we have been certified since 2003, [and] we are still learning every year." said third-generation Arthur Larmandier in an interview with Jamie Goode (Wine Anorak). Yet the Larmandier family has gotten more adept with its practice over the years, now bolstered with the necessary equipment to manage their wide longitude of vineyards to their preferences, even calling in the help of drones that can administer biodynamic treatments to the vines in fast response to the increasingly fickle climate. Arthur goes on to say, "I am lucky, because my Dad has the experience. We have a lot of people trying organics but they don’t want to be certified because they are afraid."

Larmandier-Bernier using drones to help spray biodynamic treatments.

Beyond biodynamics, Pierre would also increase vines acreage, reduce vineyard yields, as well as shift harvest times later to allow for more ripeness that balances out the base wine, whilst also having demarcated special parcels of significantly older vines (from 50 to 70 years old) that hold the potential to create more distinctive singular expressions. Given the high specifications for their fruit, it's unsurprising that all of Larmandier-Bernier's Champagnes come entirely from its own vineyards with no purchases of fruit from external growers, which thus allows the family to control every aspect of the winemaking process. Together they farm 85% Chardonnay with just 15% Pinot Noir (that's used for its rosé and still red), with the vines 35-40 years old on average, significantly older than the regional average. 

Harvest is done entirely by hand, with fruit selection carried out in the vineyards, following which once the fruit enters the cellars, fermentation is allowed to take place spontaneously with only the use of indigenous yeasts in large, neutral oak barrels so as to enable gentle oxygenation, where each parcel is vinified separately. Fermentation is long and slow, and can go on for up to two months, whilst a later second fermentation when ambient temperatures have warmed is also particularly encouraging of malolactic fermentation which is allowed to take place as it happens and when deemed necessary. The house actively employs extended lees ageing, from anywhere from 2 to 6 years and even beyond (and have recently invested in a new cellar to support even longer ageing), with minimal sulphur use. The whole philosophy is therefore to shape winegrowing and making around the creating of wines that are as pure and expressive as possible, with a goal to deliver its terroir with the utmost clarity. 

Arthur filling the amphora.

More recently, Pierre and Sophie's sons Arthur and Georges, the former previously having worked marketing at Chanel with the latter an aeronautical engineer, have taken on experiments for the house, having begun fermenting base wines in stone amphorae as well as moving some of the family's reserve wines from stainless steel to wood casks for ageing. Their goal is to push the family's Champagnes further along in achieving even more character and distinctiveness.

With all that said, we'll now give Larmandier-Bernier's flagship Longitude cuvee a taste test!

PS. Big shoutout to Singapore's Convivial Bar for having this iconic Champagne house served by the glass! If you're a Champagne lover or want to taste and learn more about Champagnes (at a great price), Convivial Bar has an incredible selection of outstanding names both by the glass (extensive!) and by the bottle (even more extensive!), with also the friendliest barkeep Yeo Xi Yang helming Asia's first Star Wine List awarded dedicated Champagne bar! We're big fans of their work as is obvious by now!

Champagne Review: Larmandier-Bernier Longitude Premier Cru Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

As the name suggests, Longitude showcases Larmandier-Bernier's work across its Cote des Blancs vineyards, stretching from Vertus at the south, all the way to Cramant in the north, with the Grand Crus of Avize and Oger in between. Whilst the soils across Cote des Blancs are largely characterised as being predominantly Campanian chalk (which acts as a natural reservoir that absorbs rainfall and slowly releases water to the vines, allowing for a very balanced ripening and longevity even in warmer vintages), which has made the region famous for its mineral Chardonnays, the vineyards represented in the Longitude cuvee feature a thinner topsoil (as compared to the accompanying Larmandier-Bernier Latitude cuvee, which as you might guess showcases vineyards across a geographical breadth). This allows the vines to dig deeper into the chalk bedrock and access more minerality.

Both the Longitude and Latitude cuvees are composed based off of perpetual reserves (instead of blending parcels of single vintage base wines, the estate uses a single vat to house multiple vintages, with each new vintage topping up the 40% of reserve wines that are used that same year for outgoing cuvees), with the Longitude being one-third perpetual reserve and two-thirds of the latest vintage (the span of which is about 10-12 years of ageing from oldest wine to newest). After blending, the cuvee spends one more year in wood and two more years on lees before disgorgement and a 3g/L dosage. This is of course 100% Cote des Blancs Chardonnay.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Light Gold

Aroma: It opens with a bounty of fresh dough, emerging as a plume of flour-y mustiness, grounded by rustic plucks of dough. It’s fresh, pure and evocative, yet with an almost chewy suppleness. With time, it develops more on buttered brioche aromas, with some lightly toasty shio pan crusts.

Taste: Medium-bodied, it’s alittle more rounded with just a touch more ripeness, filled in with apple preserves giving it some richness, yet brightened with lightly tart yellow apples and a squeeze of lemon. It’s firm and supple, leading with the apple preserves before narrowing to a more linear and precise thread of citrusy acidity that carries through to the finish. With time, it’s giving more bruised apples with that bit of savoury umaminess, as if these bruised apples were made to a jam. The acidity is present yet well-integrated and distributed.

Finish: The citrusy acidity continues on, with more on lemon meringue, supported by a more mellowed base of bruised apple savoury umaminess, and some maltose in there. It’s seamless and linear, ending off with a clean and crisp, very refreshing and pure finish.

My Thoughts

True to form, the Larmandier-Bernier Longitude has a distinct linearity to it, the flavours clean and precise yet not ever withholding richness. This all whilst at the same time showcasing those beautiful and beguiling aromas typical of long lees ageing with those plucks of fresh dough that's presented as this musty, flour-y plume that has an almost chewiness to its aromatics, before delving deeper into toasted bread crusts territory. The body is rich and rounded, yet elegant and lifted, just the right weight without weighing, the acidity then bright and accented but neither sharp nor pointed. It leans in the direction of oxidativeness, with these bruised orchard fruits offered at such generosity. It was even more delightful given that it embodied such energy and liveliness that carried it vibrantly through the finish with still much more left in the tank. Such length! It finally ends in a seamless, clean and crisp note that is entirely refreshing!

What I really love so much about this is that it can be as straightforwardly enjoyable as you want or as much an intellectual exercise if you sit on it! Taken at face value, it's clean and energetic, a precision that is apparent as it is pleasurable even without much interrogation, filled in with all of those lovely notes of a bakery at work, apple pie filling, fresh Mediterranean lemons with then a drizzle of maltose candy. Yet if you dive deeper, it's a masterclass (and this is just the most accessible Larmandier-Bernier cuvee mind you!) in clarity, balance, composition and choreographed cadence. It's ridiculously accessible and easy to fall in love with, a joy on all levels and a definite and clear step into the world of Grower Champagnes.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot