Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Latitude Blanc de Blancs 1.5L MAGNUM NV Base 17. Disg. Sept 2021

Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Latitude Blanc de Blancs, here in magnum, is Chardonnay from vineyards on the southern side of Vertus, all lying at much the same latitude.

Larmandier-Bernier is a grower house at Vertus, at the southern end of the Côte des Blancs. Latitude takes its name from the fact that its source vineyards run along roughly the same line south of the village, and the name also hints at the breadth of texture those sites give: there is more clay in the soil here than in the parcels behind the Longitude cuvée, and the wine is correspondingly broader across the palate. In the cellar Larmandier works mostly in large-format casks, almost all of them now from Stockinger in Austria. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations proceed naturally and there is no filtration. Bottles are matured for more than two years, disgorged by hand, and dosed at extra-brut level — four grams per litre in this case — at least six months before release.

Ready now and will keep five years or more, the magnum longer again. Serve at 8°C with oysters, grilled prawns or a plate of Comté.