Le Sommelier Mixed Case: Champagne Leclerc Briant

Wine Type:
Style of Wine:	Fruity & Smooth
Country of Origin:	France
Wine Region:	Champagne
Appellation:	Champagne
Grape Varietal:	Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay
Bottle Format:	750mL
Case Size:	6 bottles
$684.84 Per Case ($114.14/btl)

Tasting Notes

Each case contains two bottles of the following wines:

Brut Rosé NV.
The Rosé Brut is labeled NV, but this bottle is from the 2015 harvest, and a blend of 95% Chardonnay (from Chouilly and Montgueux), 5% Pinot Noir (from Les Riceys), native fermented in stainless, with a small amount of the pinot noir fermenting in wood. The cepage rests for two years on lees before being disgorged with 5g/l (this bottle in September 2018). Light salmon in hue, this is showing beautifully at present, streaming red currants, wild strawberry, cranberry, and brisk astringency, wrapped around a core of red fruit. A kiss of sweet raspberry lingers on the finish. Excellent food wine.

Premier Cru Extra Brut NV.
This blends 70% Pinot Noir, and 15% each of Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, all from 2014, and sourced from four villages. This bottle was disgorged in June 2020 with 2 g/L. Chalk leads this wine, backed by green apple, red apple, meringue, and light toast through the lengthy finish. More structured and refined than the NV Brut, yet still highly approachable, this is an elegant wine for drinking now.

Extra Brut 2014.
The 2014 vintage was 60% Pinot Noir, and 20% each of Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. It was disgorged with 3 g/L in September 2020. Creamy and rich, with lemon pith / peel, lemon blossom, Rainier cherry, green and red apple on a driven palate, shaped by tight, nervy acidity, lined with lees and bedded with deep chalk. The Pinots are evident here through the structural, fruity palate, while Chardonnay provides the spire to drive this through the lemon-lingering finish.

Critical Praise