Le Brun de Neuville

Since it’s foundation, Le Brun de Neuville has built itself around a history of men and women, the families of winegrowers with a common desire to equip themselves with effective tools, so that their knowledge combined with the rich product of their terroir enables them to produce Champagnes of the highest quality. For over 150 years, the Le Brun family resides by the village of Bethon, close to the town of Sézanne in the Marne. The memory of Madame Le Brun who owned the castle in 1845 is still alive today. The house Le Brun de Neuville inherits its name thanks to the action of the noble heiress of the Château de Bethon, Madame de Reviers, one of the founders of the House.

In 1963, in the charming village of Bethon. Mr. André Vandier, Mrs de Reviers and 26 wine-growers passionate about their work, gather together to create « La Crayère » with a family spirit which will guide them through the years. United by their passion, nearly 170 wine-growers form today the «Le Brun de Neuville family», sharing their knowledge, their resources and their traditions to give birth to a highly prestigious range of champagnes. 

THE VINEYARD LE BRUN DE NEUVILLE IS SPREAD OVER 150 HECTARES, Of which the essential has been planted for more 30 years and more on the undulating slopes of the Sézannais. Its vineyard is planted predominantly in Chardonnay, which represents 88% of the total. The Pinot Noir accounts for 11% and the Meunier just 1% of the vines. The supplies of Champagne Brun de Neuville come exclusively from the vines of its members.

THE “COTE DE SÉZANNE” rests on a bed of chalk, covered with a few centimeters of earth and made up of granules of calcite. Its high porosity makes it a real reservoir of water ensuring the plant a sufficient supply, even in the driest summers. Our vineyard is planted on a hillside that allows it to accumulate large amounts of solar energy.

Le Brun de Neuville is the specialist of the famous "Blanc de Blancs" champagnes. Chardonnay wines are characterized by delicate aromas, floral notes, citrus, sometimes mineral. With a slow evolution, it is the ideal grape variety for ageing wines. Pinot noir will bring roundness, body and length on the palate.

The harvest is manual to keep the bunches intact. There is a strict selection of the grapes that are then sorted according to varietal, provenance (7 different villages), slope orientation, age of the vine and cultivation techniques. As soon as the harvest begins, our winemaker enters the stage: Mr. Gilles Baltazart, winemaker since 1986, in charge of the elaboration of our cuvées, in collaboration with the Maison’s president. His watchwords: Respecting tradition whilst using modern tools and techniques.

There are two pressing sites which avoids transporting the grapes far, allowing the pressing to begin as early as possible. This is a gentle pressing enabling a better extraction of the juice. The fermentation of juices allows the conversion of sugars by yeasts into alcohol and CO2. This first fermentation takes place in thermoregulated stainless steel tanks or in oak barrels on certain cuvées. Thanks to its qualitative supply, Brun de Neuville rigorously selects special yeasts, an indispensable tool for fermentation, in order to obtain the desired aromatic development.

By combining wines from different crus, villages, years and soils, we obtain a wide range of aromas giving subtle and complex blends. The objective of our cellar manager, Gilles Baltazart, is to create a champagne that reflects a style, our style, which he seeks year after year to perpetuate the characteristics. The wines are then bottled, some cuvées are closed with a cork. The second transformation of sugar into alcohol and CO2 by the action of yeasts is carried out in the bottle. Carbon dioxide is thus trapped in it, creating effervescence. It is at this stage that our wine becomes Champagne.

Our champagnes mature on their lees in our cellars at 15 meters underground for a minimum of 4 years, in order to develop their aromas. This ageing time extends to more than 6 to 8 years for our special cuvées, especially our "Authentique" cuvees which age with a real cork stopper, ensuring a maturation worthy of exceptional champagnes!

The last stage of clarification of champagne is the riddling. Day after day, the bottles are rotated to concentrate the yeast particles in the bottle neck. The disgorging makes it possible to expel the concentrated deposit from the neck of the bottle. After disgorging and before closing and muzzling the bottle, we add the expedition liqueur: a mixture of reserve wine and sugar that will define the final style of our Champagne: Extra Brut, Brut, Demi-Sec. In order to obtain optimum maturity, after disgorging, our champagnes return for at least six months to the cellar. The bottles are then labelled and shipped.

Following the Champagne tradition of the past centuries, the Authentique range has grown and been raised under cork for many years. This particular breeding favors the micro-oxygenation of the wine and develops the power and the finesse of its aromas. This "cork-staple" sealing technique requires manual work; especially during the  disgorgement. After that, bottles are closed with a new cork and a new staple.

Available in Blanc de Blancs - Assemblage - Rosé