LECLERC BRIANT BRUT CUVEE DIVINE SOLERA NV

“The character and personality of a house such as Leclerc Briant is not moulded by any ordinary people. The five successive generations of Leclercs were true innovators and are counted amongst the pioneers of organic and biodynamic viticulture in Champagne. Founded in the village of Cumières in 1872 by Lucien Leclerc, the business moved, in 1955, to the premises it still occupies today in Chemin de la Chaude Ruelle in Epernay. It was also at this time, thanks to the dynamism of Bertrand Leclerc, the great grandson of the founder, and of his wife Jacqueline Briant, that the estate-based business changed its status to that of a Maison de Négoce or trading house. In 2012 Leclerc Briant was saved from oblivion when it was acquired by Mark Nunelly and Denise Dupré, an American couple who are great enthusiasts of the French ‘art de vivre’ and who fell in love with the nonconformist character of the House. The vineyard estate includes one tiny plot, called La Croisette, right in the heart of Epernay. It is tended with the care and attention usually only given to a much loved garden and today it produces one of the most outstanding champagnes in the House’s ‘Sélections Parcellaires’ (single vineyard) range. In recent years, under the influence of the new owners, the premises have been extensively refurbished and improved so as to provide all the facilities needed to create wines of the utmost quality; elegant new reception areas have been added as well. Deep underground, in cellars more than a kilometre in length, where the changing seasons pass by unnoticed, lies the House’s precious stock of bottles. Here, 35 metres below the surface, the conditions are ideal for the champagne to age for many a long year. In aisle upon aisle the bottles are ranged in stack after stack each one bearing the name of one or the other of the cuvees. The winery itself has been redesigned in a strikingly modern style that creates an almost monastic ambiance. None but positive vibrations are allowed within these walls where an array of containers of all shapes and materials can be found. Each imparts its own particular influence on the wines and plays a part in the search for harmony.”