Leclerc Briant: Champagne with a Difference
By the time we arrived at Leclerc Briant, we had already spent the morning at Billecart-Salmon, grabbed a quick bakery lunch and dashed up and down Épernay’s famous Avenue de Champagne.
And it was hot. Around 35°C hot.
So walking through the searing afternoon heat to Leclerc Briant required a little dedication. Fortunately, this was a house I had been particularly intrigued to visit.
I had previously tasted its extraordinary L’Abyss at one of our wine supplier’s tastings. The story alone had fascinated me — Champagne matured beneath the sea — but, importantly, the wine lived up to it, with just a gentle whisper of salinity on the finish.
I wanted to understand what was behind it.
A Champagne house doing things differently
Leclerc Briant was founded in 1872 and became an early pioneer of organic viticulture in Champagne, embracing the approach decades before it became fashionable.
After the death of Pascal Leclerc, much of the vineyard estate was sold. In 2012, American couple Mark Nunelly and Denise Dupré stepped in to save the remaining house, working with Frédéric Zeimett and renowned cellar master Hervé Jestin to revive it.
That philosophy became apparent almost immediately.
Our guide, Erin, took us across the road to the production facilities, where for the first time on our Champagne trip we actually got close to the beginning of the winemaking process.
We saw the press and learned how the juice extracted from the grapes is separated into different fractions, including the prized cuvée and the later taille.
After visiting two other houses, it was fascinating to finally see this missing piece of the Champagne puzzle.
Oak, terracotta... and gold
From there we explored the winemaking rooms, filled with barrels and vessels of different materials.
This is where Leclerc Briant becomes particularly interesting.
Rather than simply using oak or stainless steel, the house experiments with different materials and their influence on the wine. Some wines are vinified and matured in wood; others have been trialled in terracotta, and then there is the extraordinary gold-lined barrel.
Yes, actual gold.
Created for experiments with wine from the tiny La Croisette vineyard in Épernay, the stainless-steel barrel is lined internally with a microscopic layer of 24-carat gold.
Erin even encouraged us to put our hands inside the gold vessel and feel the warmth it seemed to retain.
It would be very easy to dismiss some of these ideas as eccentricity, but after spending time at Leclerc Briant, you realise experimentation is central to the house.
Down into the cellars
We crossed back to the main building and descended into the cellars.
They may not have the monumental scale of Ruinart, but they were every bit as atmospheric.
And this was where we returned to the Champagne that had originally brought me here.
L’Abyss.
After its initial ageing in Champagne, L’Abyss is submerged beneath the Atlantic off the coast of Brittany for its final maturation.
The idea sounds theatrical, but there is thought behind it. The pressure at that depth closely matches the pressure inside a bottle of Champagne, while the wine experiences constant temperature, darkness and complete humidity.
There is also something wonderfully poetic about returning Champagne to the sea: the chalk soils of Champagne themselves originated from an ancient marine environment.
Five very different Champagnes
Back upstairs, our little group settled into the tasting room, where Erin generously poured five wines.
- Blanc de Meuniers 2018 — 100% Meunier, with ripe stone fruit, toasted almond and spice, finishing with a lovely saline freshness.
- Millésime 2020 Extra Brut — a more structured and vinous expression, showing the house’s characteristic energy, freshness and low-dosage style.
- La Croisette 2017 — a single-vineyard 100% Chardonnay from Épernay, wonderfully expressive, precise and mineral.
- Derrière les Clos 2019 — 100% Pinot Noir from Mailly-Champagne, beautifully tense and refined, with floral notes, red-fruit character and a silky texture.
- And finally, L’Abyss — fresh and vivid with citrus, green apple, and that unmistakable saline finish.
My favourite?
La Croisette.
And unusually, Erin poured it into a much larger glass than I am accustomed to drinking Champagne from — essentially a Burgundy-style wine glass.
I loved it.
The larger bowl seemed to let the wine open up beautifully, intensifying the aromas and making the whole experience feel much more like tasting a fine wine than simply drinking Champagne.
Perhaps I was easily influenced when Erin told us La Croisette was her favourite too. Or perhaps we simply had to agree that it was fantastic.
A completely different Champagne experience
Leclerc Briant felt entirely different from our visits to Billecart-Salmon and Ruinart.
It was smaller, more intimate and wonderfully personal. We were able to ask endless questions, see parts of the production process we hadn’t experienced elsewhere and really understand the philosophy behind the wines.
Most of all, I loved the curiosity of the place.
Organic and biodynamic farming, unusual vessels, gold, terracotta, Champagne beneath the sea — Leclerc Briant is clearly not afraid to ask “what if?”
And underneath all that experimentation, the wines remain the most important thing.
They are distinctive, characterful and seriously good.
From Champagne to The Cheese Lady
After this trip, we were delighted to add Leclerc Briant Brut Réserve NV to the shelves at The Cheese Lady - a wonderfully characterful introduction to the house and its distinctive philosophy.
And I’m still hoping to bring L’Abyss to our collection too. It is certainly a premium Champagne, but after tasting it again at the house and understanding the story behind it, I think it offers something genuinely memorable.
You can pre-order L’Abyss here.
Sometimes a bottle is more than simply a drink.
L’Abyss is an experience.