Tag: Pinot Meunier

Champagne Leclerc-Briant Millésime 2009 (Extra Brut)
Price for The Champagne Society members: $75, limit 2 bottles

Founded in the village of Cumières in 1872 by Lucien Leclerc, Champagne Leclerc Briant saw five successive generations of Leclercs that were true innovators and who are counted amongst the pioneers of organic and biodynamic viticulture in Champagne. Today, enologist Hervé Jestin continues the legacy of this visionary house.

The estate holds 24 acres of vineyards divided between the Premier Cru villages of Cumières, Hautvillers, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Bisseuil in the Vallée de la Marne, Villers-Allerand and Rilly la Montagne in Montagne de Reims and the Grand Cru village of Le Mesnil Sur Oger in the Côte des Blancs. Their holdings also include one tiny plot, called La Croisette, right in the heart of Epernay.

In recent years, the premises have been extensively refurbished and improved with the aim of creating wines of the utmost quality. Their extensive cellars are more than a half of a mile in length and over 100 feet below the surface — ideal for maturing champagne.

Certified biodynamic, Leclerc-Briant Millésime 2009 is produced from 40% Chardonnay; 40% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Meunier from the Premiers Crus villages of Hautvillers and Cumières as well as the village of Verneuil located on the right bank of the Marne. The wine was fermented and aged for seven to eight months in stainless steel and cement tanks followed by nearly eight years in bottle before disgorgement in June of 2017 when it received a low dosage of just 4 grams per liter. Only about 800 cases were produced.

Long maturity and the ripe 2009 vintage gives the wine a lushness to balance a brisk low dosage and salty finish. Notes of lemon curd, white flowers, and brioche add to its elegance. A beautiful Champagne inside and out as the label design was inspired by the influential publishing house Éditions Gallimard’s iconic book cover design.

Champagne Jacquesson “Cuvée 742” (Extra Brut)
Price for The Champagne Society members: $76 (regular price $89)

Long-time subscribers to The Champagne Society will no doubt be familiar with Champagne Jacquesson’s 700-series created to showcase the character of a particular vintage with the addition of a small amount of reserve wines designed to reinforce the complexity of the base wine.

Indeed, the 700-series is proving to be consistently one of the best non-vintage Champagnes available. We are pleased to share “Cuvée 742” – their latest release based on the 2014 vintage.

Although technically a Champagne house, brothers Laurent and Jean-Hervé Chiquet operate Champagne Jacquesson much like a grower operation. Besides their own organic and sustainably farmed 69 acres of vineyard (severely pruned for low yields), they work closely with their neighbors to supplement from an additional 19 acres, all in Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards. What sets them apart is their goal of producing a wine that expresses the greatness of their vineyard parcels rather than merely maintain a “house style.” Purely on the refinement of its current cuvées, Jacquesson can easily be ranked among Champagne‘s top six producers.

Laurent and Jean-Hervé describe their 2014 harvest from the Premiers Crus and Grands Crus villages of Aÿ, Dizy, Hautvillers (59%) and Avize and Oiry (41%): “Winter was rainy and exceptionally mild, spring was hot and very dry, whilst July and August were cool and very wet. A hot, dry and sunny September saved the year. The balance of alcohol and acidity was excellent and the health of the grapes was generally good. However, after picking, rigorous sorting of some parcels affected by small sources of acid rot was necessary. As a result, the Chardonnays were superb, and the Meuniers, but above all the Pinot Noirs, held their own. The blend is completed with the addition of some reserve wines.”

The dosage is minimal at 1.5 grams per liter. The result is a Champagne with the energy and sap one expects from the 700-series that reflects all the vitality of the vintage. William Kelley of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate describes it lovingly: “Wafting from the glass with a complex bouquet of walnut oil, dried white flowers, saffron, citrus oil and crisp orchard fruit, along with a delicate top note of fino sherry, it’s medium to full-bodied, sapid and incisive, with superb concentration, racy acids and a long, resonant finish. I found it irresistible.”