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About the producer
Champagne Leclerc Briant focuses on organic and biodynamic viticulture, working in harmony with nature to produce some of the region’s most exciting wines.
Lucien Leclerc founded the estate in 1872 in the village of Cumières. In the mid-20th century, in the hands of Lucien’s great-grandson, Bertrand Leclerc, and his wife, Jacqueline Briant, the operation was moved to the beating heart of Champagne, Épernay, where it also took a new name – Leclerc Briant. It was around the same time that the House started practising biodynamics (one of the first in the region), eventually earning certification in the 1980s.
Visit Website: http://leclercbriant.fr/uk/
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Organic
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Biodynamic
The vineyard estate includes one tiny plot called La Croisette, right in the heart of Épernay. It is tended with the care and attention usually only given to a much loved garden and today it produces one of the most outstanding champagnes in the House’s Sélections Parcellaires (single vineyard) range.
Since 2012, Chef du Cave Hervé Justin, formally of Duval-Leroy, has refined the House’s style. Along with his certifications in the vineyard, he also practises biodynamic principles in the winery. The House has taken on new vineyards, renovated its facilities and has a renewed, uncompromising focus on quality.
Vineyard
The estate has been biodynamically and organically certified since the 1980s and extends its biodynamic practicing to the cellar. Leclerc Briant owns 14ha of vines and buys 15ha from similarly minded growers who are also certified organic or biodynamic.
Winery
The wines are certified vegan. Before ageing in the chalk cellar 35m underground, each base wine is aged for a minimum of nine months in barrel. Key principles include long ageing of base wines, adding very low or zero dosage and experimentation with different vessels and environments for ageing; the Abyss cuvée is aged underwater.