Brut Réserve is made from Pinot Meunier (40%), Pinot Noir (40%) and Chardonnay from organically grown vineyards in Cumières, Verneuil, Sermiers, Epernay et Cramant. The composition varies by vintage, but it is usually Pinot Meunier that dominates. The majority of the wine for Brut Réserve comes from a single vintage, supplemented by wines from 2-3 older vintages. The wine is both fermented and matured in large wooden barrels. The length of the second fermentation in the bottle (champagneisation) also varies according to vintage – usually around 2-3 years. Dosage (adding sugar liqueur) is 2-4.5 g. sugar/litre.
Brut Réserve has a nice, light golden color with a red tinge. It has fine, persistent bubbles and a very open, clean and fruity aroma – here, too, with aromas of red fruits. The taste has a nice harmony between dryness, fullness, fruity sweetness and finesse. A very complex, characterful and charming champagne. It ends with good dryness, structure and a slightly salty style, which makes it very appetizing. Perfect for festive occasions or for gastronomy, especially with shellfish or fish.
Leclerc Briant
Lucien Leclerc established in 1872 ‘Domaine Leclerc’ in Cumières near Epernay. The basis was i.a. the vineyards that Lucien’s wife, Adèle, had brought as a dowry when they married. For many years, the winery produced domaine-bottled champagnes and wines, which were delivered to larger companies in the area. In 1955, Bertrand Leclerc (4th generation) and his wife Jacqueline Briant expanded the family business to also include a ‘négoce’, where grapes or wines were bought from selected neighboring producers via fixed agreements with them. The company name was simultaneously changed to ‘Maison Leclerc-Briant’.
Bertrand Leclerc is still remembered as the wine producer in Champagne who was already interested in organic/biodynamic production in the 1950s – long before the legislation around these cultivation methods had been defined. The son Pascal took over his father’s work in the 1980s and initiated a conversion to ecology/biodynamics on all vineyards, which resulted in an official organic approval in 2004 and a subsequent biodynamic approval in 2008. After Pascal’s untimely death in 2010, the company became in 2012 bought by an American couple and some of the couple’s friends from Champagne, who were all very fascinated by the domain’s special history and potential.
Champagne Leclerc-Briant, with its 10 hectares of vineyards, is known as the oldest and most innovative biodynamic producer in Champagne. The fields are located in Cumières, Hautvillers, Mareuil sur Aÿ, Bisseuil and Rilly la Montagne – most of them classified as 1. Cru.
