2016 Champagne Leclerc Briant, Les Basses Prieres, 1er Cru, Brut Zéro
Critics reviews
Dosage is 1.5gr/L. Disgorged: February, 2022.
The 2016 Brut Zéro Les Basses Prières was harvested just underneath the abbey of Hautvillers. It is a co-harvest of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay, co-pressed and co-fermented in oak for nine months. Creamy, plummy, fragrant notions characterise the nose. Fruit is subtle but precise, uniting ripe Mirabelle plum and Amalfi lemon within fine mousse. Freshness frames straighten and sharpen everything and point to depth.
Drink 2023 - 2035
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (November 2023)
From a single vineyard in the Premier Cru village of Hautvillers, the 2016 Champagne Les Basses Prières Brut Zero is composed of 80% Pinot Noir with the rest Chardonnay, with a small dosage of 1.5 grams per litre. Pouring a bright, youthful yellow straw hue, the wine is layered and well-detailed with orange blossom, yellow apple, and frangipane aromas. Medium to full-bodied, it has a more linear feel in its texture, a touch of oak spice, and persistent energy and fresh lift on the finish. It offers a refined, delicate, pillowy mousse and has a light saline savoury touch and lovely lime citrus-toned energy through the focused finish.
Drink 2023 - 2040
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (May 2023)
About this WINE
Champagne Leclerc Briant
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, Epernay. Here it also took a new name – Leclerc Briant. Around the same time, the house started practising biodynamic viticulture (becoming one of the first in the region to do so), eventually earning certification in the 1980s.
Since 2012, Chef du Cave Hervé Jestin, formerly of Champagne Duval-Leroy, has refined the house style here. Working with organic and biodynamic fruit, he also practises biodynamic principles in the winery. Leclerc Briant has taken on new vineyards, renovated its facilities, and has a renewed, uncompromising focus on quality.
The traditional sparkling wine method here is low dosage, vineyard-specific, and extremely interesting. The popular Abyss cuvée is aged underwater. As of the 2012 vintage, Hervé Jestin and the team are responsible for making the wine at Château d’Avize, which they bottle under the Leclerc Briant label and sell through La Place de Bordeaux.
Brut Champagne
Brut denotes a dry style of Champagne (less than 15 grams per litre). Most Champagne is non-vintage, produced from a blend from different years. The non-vintage blend is always based predominately on wines made from the current harvest, enriched with aged wines (their proportion and age varies by brand) from earlier harvests, which impart an additional level of complexity to the end wine. Champagnes from a single vintage are labelled with the year reference and with the description Millésimé.
Non-vintage Champagnes can improve with short-term ageing (typically two to three years), while vintages can develop over much longer periods (five to 30 years). The most exquisite and often top-priced expression of a house’s style is referred to as Prestige Cuvée. Famous examples include Louis Roederer's Cristal, Moët & Chandon's Dom Pérignon, and Pol Roger's Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill.
Recommended Producers : Krug, Billecart Salmon, Pol Roger, Bollinger, Salon, Gosset, Pierre Péters, Ruinart
Champagne blend
Which grapes are included in the blend, and their proportion, is one of the key factors determining the style of most Champagnes. Three grapes are used - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
26% of vineyards in Champagne are planted with Chardonnay and it performs best on the Côtes des Blancs and on the chalk slopes south of Epernay. It is relatively simple to grow, although it buds early and thus is susceptible to spring frosts. It produces lighter, fresher wines than those from Burgundy and gives finesse, fruit and elegance to the final blend. It is the sole grape in Blancs de Blancs, which are some of the richest long-lived Champagnes produced.
Pinot Noir accounts for nearly 40% of the plantings in Champagne and lies at the heart of most blends - it gives Champagne its body, structure, strength and grip. It is planted across Champagne and particularly so in the southern Aube district.
The final component is Pinot Meunier and this constitutes nearly 35% of the plantings. Its durability and resistance to spring frosts make the Marne Valley, a notorious frost pocket, its natural home. It ripens well in poor years and produces a soft, fruity style of wine that is ideal for blending with the more assertive flavours of Pinot Noir. Producers allege that Pinot Meunier lacks ageing potential, but this does not deter Krug from including around 15% of it in their final blends.
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Description
Bottled July 2017, disgorged February 2022. Dosage as 1.5 grams.
The single vineyard is located directly under the historical cradle of Champagne, the holy Abbey of Hautvilliers and the resting place of Dom Perignon. This mix planted, organic vineyard produces richly flavoured Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grown on the slopes above Epernay.
80% Pinot Noir gives rich fruit profile, plum, black fruits & roasted red Macintosh apple. The solar vintage gives ample fruit and a sunny disposition, whist retaining plenty energy. The cuvée is 20% Chardonnay keeping the palate taught, tangy and sapid. The cuvée spent 9 months in mixed oak barrel prior to secondary fermentation.
This is the most vinous of Leclerc Briant’s releases, there is an undeniable musky Burgundian charm across the palate, some seasoned oak spice whilst retaining mineral freshness. It is relaxed & supple with seamless energy and a millefleur like complexity. No filtration keeps vinous density and gives a satin like texture, defined fruit and terroir expression encased in soft suspension of the finest mousse.
Drink 2024 - 2038
Davy Żyw, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd
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