Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesThis wine relies on a perpetual reserve started by Thibaud Brocard’s father, Pierre, in 1991, providing 30 percent of the blend. The balance, in this case from the 2019 harvest, is 75 percent pinot noir, 20 percent pinot blanc and five percent chardonnay from the family’s estate. Spontaneously fermented in stainless steel, a portion (15 percent) of this blend is vinified in French oak barrels. This wine’s pinot noir berry-skin richness and heady depths of flavor greet you with a muscular embrace. Above that, there’s a note of tangerine zest lasting through a clean finish. The integration of the texture and the fruit makes the wine completely satisfying.
Thibaud Brocard is a rising star in Champagne’s Côte des Bar. Champagne Brocard Pierre produces handmade, terroir-focused wines with great transparency and electricity, without the aid of chemicals or the winemaking sleight-of-hand common in the world’s most recognizable wine appellation. The vibe at Brocard Pierre is a reflection of Thibaud: fresh and young; jovial, but always on-point. He delivers precise, gastronomic Champagnes designed for maximum pleasure at the table with friends, without pretense.
Vigneron Thibaud Brocard is the fifth generation of Champagne Brocard Pierre to work his family vineyards near the village of Celles-sur-Ource in the Seine river valley, known as the Barséquanais area of the Côte des Bar, the southernmost subregion of Champagne. Thibaud uses organic, biodynamic, and regenerative farming practices in the vineyards, which are integrated and in harmony with the biologically diverse, forested environment of Côte des Bar. He transitioned the Brocard Pierre vineyards to organic farming upon his return to the estate in 2012. He does not use any synthetic chemical products in the vineyard, and mildew is carefully managed with tiny doses of copper, as he is sensitive to its overuse. Brocard Pierre’s vineyards have been glyphosate-free for more than 20 years.
In the cellar, Thibaud employs a soft touch and prefers to vinify in stainless steel over oak barrels, as he feels it better preserves each parcel’s terroir and vineyard expression. Grapes are handpicked and sorted in the vineyard before being crushed very gently in a beautiful vertical Coquard press. Free-run juice goes into cement tanks for a cold soak on the gross lees for 24 hours before fermentation with native yeasts, exclusively for primary fermentation, as he feels that each yeast gives the wine the profile of the vineyard. Thibaud works non-oxidatively, and he notably utilizes nitrogen in the winery to protect his tanks and solera, which helps him keep the use of sulfur dioxide in the winery to the absolute minimum while preserving fruit and vineyard expression. This practice deserves mention and merit, as it is a tool that helps him achieve his goal of producing delicious wines for maximum enjoyment, made without faults or defects. His Champagnes have very little-to-no sulfur added, with an average of 18-32 mg/l of total SO2, depending on vintage and what his native yeasts give. Champagne Brocard Pierre is unfiltered and bottled without cold stabilization, using bentonite for a gentle fining.
Thibaud prefers long-aging on the lees in bottle (three to five years), as well as an average of nine months of post-disgorgement aging in bottle to allow his wines the proper time to integrate before release. Brocard Pierre’s entry-level and only blended-grape expression, Cuvée Tradition Brut d’Assemblage, spends three years on the lees in bottle before release, giving it one of the best quality-to-value ratios in the world of Champagne. The heart of his production is his mono-varietal, single-vintage wines from pinot noir and chardonnay, which are released after five years on the lees in bottle. The resulting wines have great complexity and definition, with incredibly long-finishes designed to elevate food pairings. The combination of these elements and more further reflect Thibaud’s deep respect for his customers and terroir, making him one of the brightest rising stars of the Champagne region.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.