Champagne Hervé Brisson traces its roots to 1952, when Hervé's grandfather planted the estate's oldest Chardonnay vines on steep chalky marl slopes in the Vallée du Petit Morin—a lesser-known Champagne valley southeast of Épernay, near Vert-la-Gravelle. Hervé Brisson's first harvest on the family state was in 2001. Over the next decade he invested in winemaking equipment and by 2013 he installed his own press for estate winemaking. In 2016 he launched organic conversion, achieving
Agriculture Biologique certification by 2019 (with first organic vintages released in 2022). Today this solo artisan tends just 3.35 hectares—mostly Chardonnay (3+ ha), a touch of Meunier—focusing on living soils, biodiversity, and "return to essentials" winemaking with native yeasts, gravity-fed handling, and minimal sulfur. “Les Aulnes” (named for the alder trees shading the key parcel) is his flagship Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs, a multi-vintage blend drawing from old vines (avg. 40+ years) for purity and precision, aged 12 months in neutral oak then 15+ months on lees before low-dosage (~4-6g/L) disgorgement.
Hervé's philosophy rejects big-Champagne uniformity for terroir transparency: hand-harvested in small boxes, gentle pressing, barrel texture without oak dominance, and extended lees for savory depth, all on the Petit Morin's cool, mineral-rich limestone that yields wines of electric focus. “Les Aulnes” captures this ethos—tense green apple and citrus zest on the nose with white flowers and brioche hints, exploding into a chalky, saline palate of crisp minerality, fine lively bubbles, and creamy integration that lingers endlessly. It's grower Champagne at its most authentic: not flashy, but profoundly structured and ageworthy from a micro-producer whose organic commitment and old-vine patience make every bottle a quiet revelation.
