Today’s offer deserves a standing ovation for a number of reasons: It’s the last vintage crafted by one of Champagne’s earliest adopters of organic/biodynamic farming, is a paragon of balance and terroir expression while staying well under $100, and, to date, is among the finest ‘09 Champagnes I’ve tasted.
This house exploded onto the scene during the modern era thanks to the late Pascal Leclerc-Briant, one of the original pioneers of biodynamics and site-specific wines. What’s in this bottle is more than Champagne, it’s a soulful take on bubbles, showcasing slow-building power, precision, and rich intensity that can only come from natural farming and pure, patient winemaking; I have yet to find a 2009 Champagne with more detailed symmetry at such a modest price point. Though Pascal is no longer with us, his legacy shines through the ever-growing biodynamic and single-vineyard scene and, in today’s case, his incredibly stunning bottle of 2009 vintage Champagne. I was told hardly any of this long-aged masterpiece makes it to the States, so enjoy what you can grab before our small allocation disappears. Only four per person.
This artisanal Champagne house first began with Lucien Leclerc in 1872, the first of a few successive generations of vignerons, before it was shaped into a functioning production house in 1955 by his great grandson, Bertrand Leclerc and his wife, Jacqueline Briant. It was in this year that the couple joined their surnames and moved their facilities to Epernay. Bertrand's son, Pascal, spent decades learning his father’s organic methods and upon assuming control, began a massive push towards complete organic and biodynamic conversion. Pascal Leclerc-Briant was no stranger to the spotlight either: Whether showboating his sabrage skills, having guests abseil (!) into his deep chalk cellars, building gigantic champagne flute pyramids for the record books, or showing off his very own museum of Champagne artifacts, Pascal made sure the public eye was trained on him. Behind the curtains, however, was a man who was one of Champagne’s most revered figures due to his early advocacy for organic/biodynamic farming and single-vineyard wines.
Sadly, Pascal abruptly passed away in 2010—making today’s wine the last vintage he had his hands on—and after nightmarish spouts between his inheritors, the house and property was sold. It is now under new ownership and managed by Frédéric Zeimett. Incredibly, the house hasn’t lost an ounce of the natural philosophies that originally brought it to international acclaim: Frédéric has worked tirelessly to return Leclerc-Briant’s vineyard ownership back to where it was during Pascal’s heydey, all while farming each newly acquired parcel biodynamically—quite a feat, especially in Champagne. In the winery, Zeimett has hired Hervé Justin, the former cellamaster at Duval-Leroy, a highly respected house that was the very first to release a Certified Organic Champagne. Champagne pundit, Peter Liem, gives Hervé high praise in his newest book: “It isn’t easy to describe the brilliance of Hervé Jestin, or to explain why he is one of Champagne’s best winemakers...his wines are unlike anything else being made in Champagne...and they represent an important evolution in the region’s organic and biodynamic movement.”
Today’s Millésime 2009 is a blend of 40% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, and 20% Pinot Meunier with the large majority coming from organic and biodynamic estate-owned vines in Cumières and Hautvillers, with a small portion of purchased grapes from Verneuil that were also farmed biodynamically. After hand harvesting all grapes in 2009 (a generously warm and ripe year), they were trucked off a few miles alongside the Marne River to Leclerc-Briant’s cellars in Epernay. After a long fermentation in a combination of stainless steel and concrete tanks, the wine was bottled and sent into their 100-foot deep cellars where it aged undisturbed until dégorgement in December of 2016. Each ‘extra-brut’ bottle was topped off with less than four grams of sugar which creates impeccable balance on the palate.
Leclerc-Briant’s 2009 pours a brilliant pale yellow with silver reflections that shimmer about as tiny bubbles make a dash for the surface. The nose is incredibly energetic, barely showing its nearly 10 years of age. Quince, baked yellow apple, sliced yellow pear, Rainier cherry, fresh white flowers, citrus blossoms, lemon curd, pastries, raw hazelnut, chamomile tea, crushed oyster shell, chalk, and white mushroom all roll out in soft waves. The wine is incredibly balanced too: opulent, dry, complex—it shows mouthfilling complexities that linger endlessly. On the palate, you’ll pick up baked fruits, brioche, savory minerality, and beautiful ripeness that perfectly counter the low dosage. You must drink at least one bottle now and save your others over the next 5-10 years, as this will certainly go the distance. Serve in large, open-mouthed “tulip” Champagne stems (note: only use traditional thin flutes for inexpensive sparkling) or simply use an all-purpose white wine stem—just make sure you savor the bottle slowly over several hours at a steady temperature of 50-55 degrees. To create a brilliant evening for your guests this coming autumn, serve this with Thomas Keller’s Fried Chicken Recipe. Rich, aged Champagne and fried chicken is one of the greatest pairing out there—if you haven’t tried it yet, now’s the time. Cheers!
