Champagne Larmandier-Bernier is one of the true stars of the Côte des Blancs. Both the Larmandier and Bernier families have had an extensive history in the region, but it was not until the marriage of Philippe Larmandier and Elisabeth Bernier in 1971 that Champagne Larmandier-Bernier was established. The small house today is directed by Pierre and Sophie Larmandier, along with their son Arthur, and own just under eighteen hectares in some of the finest villages on the Côte des Blancs. Pierre took over the direction of the family estate in 1988, and by 1992 he began to move the family’s vineyards over to organic viticulture and then to full-blown biodynamic farming by 1999.

In the cellar, Pierre Larmandier is every bit the purist and uses only indigenous yeasts for alcoholic fermentations, producing the most natural and terroir-specific wine possible. Each cru is vinified separately, using a combination of foudres and/or smaller Burgundian barrels. The wines also undergo malolactic fermentation.

Blending is generally done in the summer following harvest, and it is at this time that the Larmandiers decide whether or not their three single-vineyard bottlings will be produced. The final blends are made and the wines are bottled in July before they undergo secondary fermentation in the deep, cold Vertus cellars. The wines are aged for several years prior to hand-riddling and disgorgement, and are then held a minimum of six months before being released into the market.