Leclerc Briant
pronounced luh-KLAIR bree-AHNA pioneer of biodynamics in Champagne, which almost disappeared after the death of the last of the family, and today, under American owners, carries out the most daring experiments in the region: wine fermented in a barrel lined with 24-carat gold and Champagne aged 60 m beneath the surface of the Atlantic.
See the bottlesAvailable at SZAMPAN.com.pl
7 Champagnes. Formats and packaging of the same bottle are on its page, not listed separately.
House signature
A pioneer since 1970
Pascal Leclerc-Briant took up biodynamics when hardly anyone in Champagne had heard of it, and today the house uses only organic grapes.
A 24-carat cask
Hervé Jestin patented a 228-litre cask lined with gold on the inside, in which some of the wines for La Croisette ferment.
At the bottom of the Atlantic
Bottles of Abyss age for 15 months on the seabed off the island of Ouessant in Brittany.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1872
- Based in
- Épernay (since 1955), origins in Cumières
- Type
- house (négociant-manipulant), fully organic and biodynamic
- Owner
- Mark Nunnelly and Denise Dupré (USA), since 2012
- President
- Frédéric Zeimett (managing director)
- Chef de cave
- Hervé Jestin
- Vineyards
- approx. 14 ha (Grand Cru Mailly and Le Mesnil, Premier Cru including Hautvillers, Cumières, Bisseuil, Rilly-la-Montagne) plus grapes from organic growers
- Production
- the goal after the 2012 takeover: 200,000-300,000 bottles a year
- House style
- biodynamics, single-plot wines, low dosage and little sulphur, experiments with vessels (the gold cask, terracotta eggs, ageing in the sea)
Data checked: October 2026.
History
- 1872
Cumières
Lucien Leclerc founded the house in Cumières, in the Marne Valley. Over the following decades the family tended its vineyards and made wine on a small scale. In 2022 the house marked its 150th anniversary with a special cuvée.
- 1955
Leclerc and Briant
Bertrand Leclerc, the founder's great-grandson, and his wife Jacqueline Briant moved the house to Épernay and turned it into a trading house under the joint name Leclerc Briant. In the late 1950s Bertrand was one of the first in Champagne to give up chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
- 1970
Pascal and biodynamics
Their son Pascal began experimenting with biodynamics in 1970, when hardly anyone in Champagne had heard of it. After ten years of biodynamic farming in Cumières, following the 2000 harvest he converted all the house's vineyards, about 30 ha. He was also early in making single-plot wines and zero-dosage Champagne.
- 2010
Death and a sell-off
Pascal Leclerc-Briant died at the end of 2010, aged 60. In October 2011 the vineyards began to disappear: Roederer bought plots in Cumières, then the Rouzaud family took over the whole estate for over 40 million euros. Of the former 30 or so hectares, the house was left with a small plot.
- 2012
Americans rescue the brand
The Rouzauds sold the brand, the stocks, the buildings in Épernay and the grape contracts to Mark Nunnelly and Denise Dupré from the USA. The owners hired Hervé Jestin, previously winemaker at Duval-Leroy and a biodynamics specialist, and the house was put in the hands of Frédéric Zeimett, a native of Champagne and previously a director at Chapoutier. The house rebuilt its vineyards to about 14 ha and also bought vineyards in Burgundy, in Rully, and Clos de la Commaraine in Pommard.
People
Pascal Leclerc-Briant
A pioneer of biodynamics in Champagne who wanted to “protect the environment and make Champagnes that show the true character of the terroirs”. After his death the house almost ceased to exist.
Hervé Jestin
Oenologist and biodynamic practitioner, previously at Duval-Leroy. Creator of the gold cask and the Abyss cuvée. Of his methods he says: “For me what matters is not the reason, but the result”.
Frédéric Zeimett
A native of Champagne with long experience in the trade, managing director at Chapoutier from 2009 to 2011. At first he was not a supporter of biodynamics.
Mark Nunnelly and Denise Dupré
An American financier and his partner, lovers of France and French art. They rescued the brand when the vineyards had already been sold off.
House style
Leclerc Briant describes itself as the only trading house in Champagne that uses 100% organic grapes from all three main areas. Its own 14 or so hectares lie in the Grand Crus of Mailly and Le Mesnil and in Premier Cru villages of the Marne Valley and the Montagne de Reims; the rest comes from organic growers. Behind the house in Épernay lies La Croisette, a 0.6 ha Chardonnay plot planted in 1960.
The wines age in cellars 35 m underground for at least 30 months before disgorgement, with dosage rarely above 4-5 g/l. Jestin ferments some of the wines in casks, in terracotta eggs and in a gold-lined vessel. The wines are lively and precise, with a distinct saltiness and low sulphur levels.
Key cuvées
- Réserve Brut
- 40% each of Pinot Noir and Meunier and 20% Chardonnay, dosage approx. 4 g/l.Serving: as an aperitif, with prawns, sushi and roast chicken.
- Premier Cru Extra Brut
- Pinot Noir-led, dosage approx. 2 g/l.Serving: oysters, fish tartare, roast poultry.
- La Croisette
- A zero-dosage Blanc de Blancs from the plot behind the house, fermented in oak, terracotta and the gold cask.Serving: scallops, lobster, sole cooked in butter.
- Abyss
- A Brut Zéro from three varieties in equal parts, aged for 15 months on the bed of the Atlantic off Ouessant.Serving: oysters, sea urchins, seafood.
Curiosities
- Hervé Jestin patented a 228-litre steel cask lined on the inside with 24-carat gold. He claims that gold “connects with cosmic activity” and boosts “solar activity” during fermentation, though he admits he cannot explain it. source
- Bottles of Abyss lie for 15 months at a depth of 60 m off the coast of Ouessant in Brittany. Jestin calls this the “constant dynamisation” of the wine. source
- After the death of Pascal Leclerc-Briant the Rouzaud family paid over 40 million euros for the house's vineyards, and Roederer thereby became the largest biodynamic producer in Champagne. source
- The house was making its first single-plot wines as early as the 1960s, and exported its first zero-dosage Champagne in 1970. source
- The biodynamic growers from whom the house bought grapes after 2012 included Olivier Horiot, Hugues Godmé and David Leclapart. source
- anecdote The Drinks Business was sceptical about the gold cask: gold is chemically inert and airtight, so it is hard to see a mechanism by which it could change the wine. source
- The house's story appeared in the comic book “L'incroyable Histoire du Vin”. source
The gold cask makes the wine better.
Hervé Jestin says that wine from the same plot is “completely different” in the gold cask, but admits himself that he cannot explain why. Gold is chemically inert and lets no oxygen through, so according to sceptics it behaves like any airtight vessel. The glass decides. source
“For me what matters is not the reason, but the result.”
Frequently asked questions
Does the gold cask change the taste of the wine?
Hervé Jestin claims that wine from the same plot is “completely different” in it, but admits himself that he cannot explain why. Sceptics, including The Drinks Business, point out that gold is chemically inert and airtight. The glass decides, and you can compare La Croisette for yourself.
What is Abyss Champagne?
A Brut Zéro from three varieties in equal parts which, before release, lies for 15 months at a depth of 60 m in the Atlantic off Ouessant. Jestin calls this the “constant dynamisation” of the wine. The Champagne has no dosage and is lively and saline.
Who owns Leclerc Briant?
Since 2012, the Americans Mark Nunnelly and Denise Dupré, who bought the brand, the buildings in Épernay and the stocks after the death of Pascal Leclerc-Briant. The house is run by Frédéric Zeimett, and the wines are in the hands of the biodynamic winemaker Hervé Jestin, previously at Duval-Leroy.
Which Leclerc Briant should you start with?
Réserve Brut: 40% each of Pinot Noir and Meunier and 20% Chardonnay, with a dosage of about 4 g/l. Like all the house's wines it is made from organic grapes, precise, with a salty note. If you like your Champagne fully dry, try the Premier Cru Extra Brut.
What happened to the Leclerc Briant vineyards?
After Pascal Leclerc-Briant's death in 2010 the family sold the vineyards to the Rouzaud family of Louis Roederer for over 40 million euros. In 2012 the Rouzauds sold the brand and the buildings on to the Americans, who rebuilt the vineyards to about 14 ha in the grand crus of Mailly and Le Mesnil and in premier cru villages.
Other houses
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Dom Pérignonpronounced dom peh-ree-NYOHN27 bottles
Bollingerpronounced boh-lan-ZHAY19 bottles
Krugpronounced kroog13 bottles
Charles Heidsieckpronounced sharl ED-sik10 bottles
Veuve Clicquotpronounced vuhv klee-KOH11 bottles
Deutzpronounced duhts10 bottles
Lansonpronounced lahn-SOHN10 bottles- Marguetpronounced mar-GAY10 bottles
Louis Roedererpronounced lwee ROH-duh-rer9 bottles- J-M Sélèquepronounced zhee em seh-LEK10 bottles
Ruinartpronounced rwee-NAR8 bottles
Sources
- iDealwine - Champagne Leclerc-Briant, l'épopée américaine en Champagne
- Comptoir des Millésimes - Leclerc Briant
- Decanter - Pascal Leclerc-Briant dies
- Decanter (2012) - Roederer now Champagne's biggest biodynamic producer
- The Drinks Business (2019) - Champagne aged in gold set for release in 2021
- The Buyer - Staring at the Abyss
- Glass of Bubbly - Champagne Leclerc Briant, a bio-dynamic revival
- BKWine - New owner for biodynamic Champagne Leclerc Briant
Photos: Leclercbriant, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons); Denkhenk, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons); Gérald Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
