Averaging 33 years of age, Larmandier-Bernier’s 15 hectares of vineyards lie on the spectacular terroirs of the Côte des Blancs: 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.

Fermentations using natural yeasts in a mixture of stainless steel vats, wooden casks and barrels, together with long, slow aging at either Brut Nature (0g / l) or Extra Brut (2-5g / l) allows for the clearest of expressions.

One such grower, Pierre Larmandier, created his first single-vineyard Champagne, Vieille Vignes de Cramant, in 1988, the year in which he took over the running of the 14,5 hectare Côte des Blancs estate from his parents. Krug Clos du Mesnil and Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises were examples that inspired Larmandier to make singlevineyard cuvée as his top wine. He doesn’t automatically equate single-vineyard with prestige cuvée, however. « Single-vineyards are trendy and increasingly presented by many houses and growers as prestige cuvées, but while they are another way of making champagne, they are not necessarily prestiges cuvées », says Larmandier. 《 I think a single-vineyard champagne can be a great champagne if the terroir justifies it. That us how we decided to create Terre de Vertus in 1995 and Chemins d’Avize in 2009 》——–  TheDrinksBusiness.com  (June 2022 n° 239 p 68-78)