Champagne Larmandier-Bernier is one of the true stars of the Côte des Blancs. Both the Larmandier and Bernier families have had a long history in the Champagne region, dating back to the French revolution, but it was not until the marriage of Philippe Larmandier and Elisabeth Bernier in 1971 that Champagne Larmandier-Bernier was established.

The Larmandiers are very much committed to the ideal of producing world class wines that speak of the inimitable terroirs of the Côte des Blancs, rather than using parlor tricks in the cellar. They thus work extremely hard using biodynamic methods to produce the finest possible fruit in each vintage. Their holdings are comprised of eighty-five percent chardonnay and fifteen percent pinot noir. As their vines near 35 years of age, the Larmandiers practice a much more conservative approach to yields than is currently customary in the Champagne region.

I'm increasingly convinced that Pierre Larmandier produced Champagne's wines of the vintage this year, and the 2011 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant only compounds that suspicion. Unfurling in the glass with a deep and complex nose of citrus zest, crisp yellow apples, smoke, warm bread, mandarin oil and oyster shell, it's full-bodied and fleshy but incisive, with huge concentration, bright acids and a long, intensely saline finish. Totally transcending the reputation of 2011, it has many of the textural properties of a great white Burgundy, married with the cut and chalky grip of Champagne's Côte de Blancs. Wine Advocate 97