History
Larmandier-Bernier’s family chronology starts in 1765. The combined name dates to 1971, when Philippe Larmandier and Elisabeth Bernier brought together their vineyard backgrounds and built a cellar in Vertus.
Pierre and Sophie joined the estate in 1988. Their sons Arthur and Georges arrived in 2017 and 2021 respectively. The producer describes eight generations in the Côte des Blancs, with these dates identifying the recent succession behind that longer history.
The estate uses its own grapes, with Chardonnay predominant and smaller quantities of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. Its named vineyard villages include Vertus, Cramant, Avize and Oger. Vertus is the home of the winery at 19 avenue du Général de Gaulle.
Herbicides were abandoned in 1992. Biodynamic farming extended across the estate in 1999, followed by organic certification in 2003. A new winery opened in 2010; another chai followed in 2025 to accommodate longer maturation in wood.
The present cellar account identifies Stockinger oak casks and vats, indigenous yeasts and separate handling by village, variety and parcel. The dates in the estate chronology record successive decisions in vineyard cultivation and winemaking equipment.
Latitude was formerly Tradition, a name chosen by Pierre’s parents in the 1970s. It remains Chardonnay from the south of Vertus. Both Latitude and Longitude use a perpetual reserve begun in 2004. Longitude combines Vertus, Oger, Avize and Cramant, whose alignment near the fourth meridian explains its name.
Les Barillers has been vinified separately for Terre de Vertus since 1995. Vieille Vigne du Levant was created in 1988 and previously called Vieille Vigne de Cramant. Its southeast-facing Bourron du Levant parcel in Cramant gives the wine its modern geographical identity.
The 2025 chai was built for longer maturation in oak.
Arrange a Vertus appointment
Use the official visits and contact page for an appointment at 19 avenue du Général de Gaulle, 51130 Vertus. This is the estate’s own village cellar address, separate from the Avenue de Champagne houses in Épernay. The official contact route supplies the welcome, language and tasting arrangements for the agreed date; request the available tasting, language and price directly from Larmandier-Bernier before reserving.
Larmandier-Bernier’s online shop sells named wines, including Longitude, Latitude, Terre de Vertus and Vieille Vigne du Levant. A bottle price in the shop is a purchase price, not an admission charge or evidence of an included tasting. For an itinerary combining Vertus with an Avize appointment, our grower route gives the producer addresses separately.
The Côte des Blancs in the vineyard and cellar
Larmandier-Bernier uses estate-grown grapes and does not buy in fruit. Its published vineyard description emphasises Chardonnay, with some Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, and Campanian chalk. Vertus is Premier Cru; the range also names Cramant, Avize and Oger. The official site records organic certification from 2003 and biodynamic cultivation since 1999.
The estate’s winemaking account names Stockinger oak casks and vats, indigenous yeasts and separate vinification by cru, grape variety and plot. The still wines remain on their lees for around 11 months before blending and bottling. Hand harvesting, oak maturation, no filtering and no fining are the published production choices; the numbered cuvée sheets below explain how the later bottle ageing differs.
Latitude: Chardonnay from south of Vertus
Latitude was formerly called Tradition, the name selected by Pierre’s parents in the 1970s. It is 100% Chardonnay from the south of Vertus. The current sheet gives 40% reserve wines from a perpetual reserve begun in 2004 and 2 g/L dosage. This is a non-vintage blend, connecting a specific part of Vertus with wines retained across earlier harvests.
Latitude’s first year is spent maturing on lees in wood, followed by blending and tirage in July. The bottles then mature for at least two further years in the chalk cellars. The producer disgorges them by hand nine months before release. Those separate stages explain why the date of disgorgement on a bottle is later than the harvest year of its base wine.
Longitude: four villages along the fourth meridian
Longitude is another 100% Chardonnay non-vintage wine, but its fruit comes from Vertus, Oger, Avize and Cramant. The name refers to those villages’ alignment near the fourth meridian. Its published figures are also 40% perpetual reserve, begun in 2004, and 2 g/L dosage. The distinction from Latitude is geographical, not a different grape variety.
The official Longitude page describes spontaneous alcoholic and malolactic fermentations in Stockinger wood, at least two years of bottle maturation after the first year on lees, and hand disgorgement nine months before release. Latitude and Longitude are therefore useful bottle names for comparing the estate’s southern Vertus focus with a blend of several Côte des Blancs villages.
Terre de Vertus and Vieille Vigne du Levant
Terre de Vertus comes from Les Barillers, a mid-slope Chardonnay parcel vinified separately since 1995. It is both single-vintage and single-parcel, with no dosage. The producer specifies at least six more years of bottle ageing after its first year in wood, followed by hand disgorgement a year before release. This is a named Vertus plot, not a blend of every estate village.
Vieille Vigne du Levant was created in 1988 and was previously called Vieille Vigne de Cramant. Its Bourron du Levant parcel faces southeast in Cramant, with vines described as 60 to more than 85 years old. The 100% Chardonnay wine is single-vintage, with nine further years of bottle maturation, hand disgorgement one year before release and 2 g/L dosage.
More of the Côte des Blancs
Our Côte des Blancs guide links Vertus with Avize, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Chouilly and Oiry. For a separate Avize meal, the tourist office lists Les Avisés at 59 rue de Cramant: chef Stéphane Rossillon’s restaurant has 20 covers and a named direct reservation route. A meal there does not include a Larmandier-Bernier appointment or a Jacques Selosse cellar visit.
Access and facilities
Larmandier-Bernier’s address is 19 avenue du Général de Gaulle in Vertus, in the Côte des Blancs. Visits are arranged through the estate’s contact page, champagne@larmandier.fr or +33 3 26 52 13 24; there is no published standard walk-in tour price.
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