Leclerc Briant Brut Reserve Champagne

Leclerc Briant is a trailblazing Champagne house producing wines of singular energy and nerve. Lucien Leclerc founded the winery with four hectares of vineyards in Cumieres in 1872. The business moved to Épernay in 1955 when Bertrand Leclerc married Jacqueline Briant and formed the negociant firm which still carries their name. Leclerc Briant was an early adopter of organic practices beginning in the 1960’s and was one of the first to bottle single-vineyard Champagnes starting in the 1970’s. In the late 1980’s, Bertrand and Jacqueline’s son, Pascal, began integrating biodynamic principles and part of the production has been Demeter certified since 2003. Today, enologist Herve Jestin continues the legacy of this visionary house.

Brut Reserve is produced from 40% Pinot Noir; 40% Pinot Meunier; 20% Chardonnay. Malolactic fermentation is allowed to happen naturally and sulfite levels are kept between 20 and 30 milligrams per liter. The wine spends 9 to 11 months in stainless steel tanks with 20% in oak barrels and more than 2 years on the lees in the bottle (sur lattes). Dosage is kept below 4 grams per liter and the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered.

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