LARMANDIER-BERNIER - Champagne
Pierre & Sophie Larmandier hand craft some of the world's finest Champagnes. Despite receiving high praise from the top critics (rated #4 of all Grower Champagnes in the 2015 Revue du Vin de France), their wines remain relatively unknown outside of France. Each wine expresses its own terroir with a precision, focus, and a singularity of expression that is unlike the majority of Grand Marque Champagnes.
These are more like wines that sparkle than Champagne, and are rated by my favourite wine writer, Andrew Jefford, as one of his 'Top Five' Champagnes in his prize winning book "The Wines of France", alongside Bollinger, Jacques Selosse and Egly-Ouriet. The vineyard is fully organic at the Bio-dynamic level.
I find the low dosage on these wines particularly appealing. They have the fruit and structure to stand alone sans 'makeup' (dosage), and make great companions at the dining table, being remarkably food friendly - seafood, white meats etc.
The wines are sensibly priced by comparison to the big boys, as the Larmandiers don't have to purchase grapes on the open market to create their very adult Champagnes.