Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Longitude Blanc de Blancs NV Base 21 Disg. Sep 24

Champagne Larmandier-Bernier 1er Cru Longitude Blanc de Blancs comes from Côte des Blancs parcels whose thin topsoils put the vine roots straight into chalk.

Where the house's Latitude cuvée gathers parcels along one line of the southern Côte des Blancs, Longitude runs the other way, taking Chardonnay from Cramant, Avize, Oger and Vertus. The distinction is not only geographic. The topsoils on these sites are thinner, so the roots reach the chalky bedrock quickly, and the resulting wine is narrower and more linear than the broader, clay-influenced Latitude. This bottling is based on the 2021 harvest with 40 per cent reserve wine drawn from a perpetual reserve begun in 2004, and was disgorged in September 2024. Larmandier-Bernier work with natural fermentations, large-format wood and no filtration, and dose at extra-brut levels well ahead of release. The high proportion of reserve wine is a large part of what gives this cuvée its depth without compromising its line.

Drinking well now with the structure to hold seven to ten years. Serve at 8°C with oysters, grilled snapper or a bowl of salted almonds.