drink-nowChampagne Leclerc Briant, 150th Anniversary, Brut Zéro (Disgorged in 2022)

‘When we arrived, we did not think we’d launch a cuvée for the 150th anniversary of Leclerc Briant, Esaid Frédéric Zeimett, managing director of the house since its purchase by an American couple, Denise Dupré and Mark Nunelly. ‘To celebrate this birthday, we wanted to mix the past and the present.’ 

It’s a link between the work of the current team and the work of Pascal Leclerc, the former owner. For this, Hervé Jestin, the cellar master, made a singular cuvée of only 3,000 bottles, composed of the 2014 vintage (a blend of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Pinot Meunier) with a solera from 2013 and 2011, and three vintages (2008, 2009 and 2010) sourced from the historic 2.5ha parcel of Les Chèvres Pierreuses, in the village of Cumières. 

This is the only parcel that belonged to the original estate during the Pascal Leclerc era. It is co-planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Disgorged in February 2022 with a dosage of 2g/L, Leclerc Briant’s limited edition 150th Anniversary cuvée has a delicate, energetic and perfumed bouquet with lemon oil, citrus, herbs, pear, and peach aromas intertwined with hints of spices and spring flowers. 

Tense and profound, perfectly balanced with a pinpoint mousse, the palate is fresh and elegant and has an underlying crystalline sensation serving as a counterpoint to the fullness of the texture. The final is long and chalky. It will mature over the next six to eight years.

Drink 2022 - 2030

Yohan Castaing, Decanter.com (August 2022)

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