History
Some moments in the history of the estate
Working the vine has been recorded in the family histories of the LARMANDIERS and the BERNIERS since the French Revolution. The LARMANDIERS contributed to the renown of the Côte de Blancs with their famous 'Cramant Blanc de Blancs Nature'.
From the beginning of the 20th century, the LARMANDIERS made Champagnes which very quickly proved their fine qualities. Thus Jules Larmandier and then his son, Philippe Allyre, began to supply the great Parisian restaurants (la Tour d'Argent, Taillevent, Charlot Roi des Coquillages, …).
In 1971, Philippe Larmandier, the grandson of Jules, created with his wife, Elisabeth Bernier, who owned vineyards in Vertus, LARMANDIER-BERNIER Champagne. Upon the death of her husband in 1982, Elisabeth managed the family estate and developed the sales, particularly in Belgium and Switzerland. In 1988, Pierre, the son of Philippe and Elisabeth, who had just graduated from Nantes Business School, decided to return to the job "which flowed in his veins".
Questioning established practices
In 1992, after several enriching encounters with French winegrowers and many conferences and training courses, Pierre began to bring back to life Larmandier-Bernier's different terroirs by working the soil and abandoning the use of weed-killers. And now, since 1999, the estate has been cultivated biodynamically and fermentation has been allowed to take place thanks to the natural yeast of each terroir. Why has there been such an evolution? Some will say that it's the latest trend, that it's fashionable...
For the Larmandier-Bernier family, it's more than that. Quite simply, it's self-evident: true, it's not enough to cultivate vines biodynamically in order to make great wine, - the terroir and the winegrower are also very important – but this practice is gradually asserting itself as a necessity.
Moreover, Pierre noticed that the chemical techniques used today consist in responding to each disease with a specific product. This sort of logic endangers the overall balance of the plant with its so-called 'targeted' aggressions but which are more powerful from one year to the next. He just wants to restore a natural balance between the diseases and the natural defences of each of his vineyards. His approach consists in endeavouring to understand every aspect of the vine...
Helping each terroir to express itself
Pierre is striving to refine still further his work in the cellar in order to bring the grapes to the glass in the best possible way, by putting the originality of each terroir first.
In 2002, he bought about ten acres of vines in Vertus. Ten acres in Vertus is already exceptional, but what is perhaps unique in Champagne is the fact that these vines have never known any weed-killer, nor any processed household refuse. The soil is and always has been ploughed. The previous owner, who was taking retirement, knew that the vines would continue to be ploughed.
The estate was awarded one, and then two stars in the guide 'Classement des Meilleurs Vins de France'. Pierre Larmandier was selected by the 'Revue des Vins de France' as 'most promising figure for wine 2002' and 'winegrower of the year 2003' by Bernard Burtschy of GaultMillau. In 'The New France', Andrew Jefford considered that "few winegrowers in Champagne have such an impressive range of Champagnes".
The press, many professionals and wine-lovers appreciate the Champagnes of Larmandier-Bernier: all of these encouraging signs allow us to think the 'story continues'...