Leclerc Briant

The goal at the House of Leclerc Briant is to create and market unique champagnes with an innovative style through a combination of meticulous attention to detail in both the vineyard and the winery, together with the utmost care of, and respect for, Mother Nature and the Terroirs.

It was Lucien Leclerc who, in 1872, with vineyards that were part of the dowry of his young wife Adèle, founded the Leclerc Estate in the village of Cumières, on the banks of the river Marne, near Epernay. Adèle was the first, but certainly not the only, woman to play a discreet, but crucial role in the success of the business down the years.

It was transformed into a champagne trading house in 1955 by Bertrand Leclerc, the great grandson of Lucien and the fourth generation of vignerons, together with his wife, Jacqueline Briant.

In the same year, as the business grew, the company adopted the name House of Leclerc Briant and moved to Epernay where it still occupies the original premises in Rue Chaude Ruelle.

In 2012 the company was acquired by an American couple who are lovers of the French ‘Art de Vivre’ in conjunction with some French investors from Champagne, and the business is now managed by Frédéric Zeimett, in concert with Ségolène Leclerc, representing the sixth generation of this venerable line of vignerons.

Leclerc Briant, the ultimate Bio-Chic House, is recognized for its ‘savoir-faire’. To this day, as it continues to forge ahead, the House relies on the two values that shaped its past, Respect and Singularity, whilst giving them a distinctly modern twist.

The buildings in Epernay – comprising the cellars and the production facilities – cover approximately 5,000 m2 including more than a kilometre of cellars where up to 800,000 bottles can be stored. The Lower Cellars, 35m underground, are ideal for champagnes that need extended ageing: the Vintage champagnes, the Single Vineyard champagnes and the Specialties range.

Spread out below the terrace of the main building lies the town of Epernay and a little further in the distance, the vineyard villages nearby: Hautvillers and Champillon to the north and Cuis and Chavot to the south… Right next to the buildings lies the delightful little plot of vines called La Croisette which is reached by a grassy path that opens out onto a veritable garden bursting with life. It’s from this plot that one of the House’s finest Single Vineyard champagnes is created.

The House of Leclerc Briant cultivates 10 hectares of vines which, for the most part, are in villages ranked as Premier Cru (Cumières, Hautvillers, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Bisseuil and Rilly la Montagne).

Grape supplies are supplemented by occasional purchases from a handful of loyal growers who are passionate about their work and committed to the family spirit and cardinal virtues of the House, Respect and Singularity.

Respect translates to appropriate care of the vineyards and then of the wine. The Domaine is biodynamic in and all grapes purchased are also certified as organic or biodynamic. This is the first step in Leclerc Briant’s demanding and never-ending pursuit of quality. In parallel, the Singularity is revealed through the products and the communication: the House has notably been a pioneer to offer selection of « Single Vineyard » cuvées since the 1980s.

Hervé Jestin, an oenologist well-known in Champagne as a specialist in biodynamics, has been the consultant to the House of Leclerc Briant for many years.

Biodynamics provides an insight into the vibrations that pass between the cosmos, and microorganisms, between the vines and the wine; that in turn allows the creation of a harmonious environment…

Many years of work and careful observation have convinced Hervé that it is possible for mankind to understand, and even to call upon, the inherent intelligence of Nature.
His work has allowed him to define the guiding principles of biodynamic resonance and to apply them not only to the work in the vineyards, but also to the critical, yet often elusive, subject of champagne making itself.

At every stage from the pressing of the grapes to the disgorging of the bottles the House of Leclerc Briant adopts a soft and natural style of winemaking. The wines are given the utmost respect and are ‘listened’ to; they are nourished by the light and by the life flowing through biodynamics so they can fully express their individuality without interference of any kind and always in keeping with the unique energy of each vintage.

After vinification the wines are left to age in cellars deep underground for a long time before being disgorged. Dosage is kept to a minimum to avoid masking any nuance of the wines’ character so that the consumer can appreciate them in a totally new way that reveals the ‘vertical thread’ that links the vine to the wine.

For the House of Leclerc Briant there is no alternative to this meticulous and singular approach. After all, a champagne that is worthy to accompany some of the most important moments of one’s life deserves extra care and attention.

Bertrand, the fourth generation of vine growers in the Leclerc family, was the first, in the late 1940s, to instil the spirit of organic farming in the family as well as in the vineyards, by adopting a way of life in Cumières that was very much in harmony with Nature.

Food came straight from the orchard and vegetable garden; medicines were made from plants in the garden and, of course, no herbicides, pesticides, or other such products whatsoever, were used in the vineyards.

From the 1980s Louis-Bertrand’s son, Pascal, the fifth generation of the family, continued and expanded his father’s work and succeeded in obtaining organic and biodynamic certification for the entire estate; the objectives were simple: to respect Mother Nature and to bring out the true character of the Terroirs!