Winemaker Notes
Underlying flavors of brioche and almond from over two years on the lees in bottle (sur lattes). Natural malolactic fermentation9 to 11 months in stainless steel tanks with 20% in oak barrelsDosage is kept below 4 grams per liter and the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered. Finish is firmly dry with lingering notes of chervil and coriander. 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Meunier, 20% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Based on the 2020 vintage and pouring a bright straw hue, the NV Champagne Brut Reserve is fresh and lifted with breezy and savory aromas of seashell and fresh pear. Floral and fruity on the palate, with medium body and a juicy feel, it has a clean, chalky texture and a mouthwatering, light almond finish with a hint of umami. Made from all organic grapes, it has a dosage of 4.5 grams per liter and was disgorged March 2024.
-
Wine Spectator
A lithe and graceful Champagne, with sleek acidity animating flavors of chopped raspberry, nectarine, preserved lemon and oyster shell. Fine and satiny in texture, offering a persistent, lightly spiced finish. Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Disgorged February 2024. Drink now through 2029. 8,500 cases made, 250 cases imported.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay, the NV Réserve Brut from Champagne Leclerc Briant is showing well today, evoking a lively, fresh bouquet of pear, verbena, lime tree, herbs and menthol. Moderately weighted and tense, it's vinous and energetic with an incisive mid-palate and a mouthwatering, fresh finish. Based on the 2020 vintage with only 5% vins de réserve, it was disgorged in October 2023 with 4.5 grams per liter dosage.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Blending the three Champagne grapes, this wine is well textured. It is warm, the tang of minerality softened by ripe white-fruit flavors.
-
Wine & Spirits
Focused on red grapes (pinots noir and meunier, 40 percent each), this gives an impression of sweet, blue-black grape skins in its soft red fruit, while golden, oxidative tones bring scents of butterscotch and white tea to the finish. For rich shellfish, like oysters Rockefeller.
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.
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.’