5 Best Leclerc Briant Champagnes To Try This Year - Reviews & Tasting Notes

In Champagne, where tradition reigns supreme, Leclerc Briant stands as the region's most pioneering biodynamic producer, creating bottles that redefine authentic, natural Champagne. Founded in 1872 in Cumières, this historic house has consistently challenged conventions while crafting exceptional wines that embody both innovation and terroir expression.

Under cellar master Hervé Jestin and general manager Frédéric Zeimett, Leclerc Briant has emerged as the ultimate expression of biodynamic winemaking, earning acclaim worldwide for their uncompromising commitment to purity and innovation. Whether discovering biodynamic wines for the first time or seeking the pinnacle of natural Champagne, Leclerc Briant represents everything exceptional about modern sustainable viticulture.

We have tried some and these are 5 exceptional cuvées that showcase why Leclerc Briant has become the reference point for biodynamic Champagne excellence:

• Leclerc Briant Brut Reserve
• Leclerc Briant Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Millésime 2018
• Leclerc Briant Rose de Saignee Extra Brut
• Leclerc Briant Blanc de Meuniers Brut Zero 2016
• Leclerc Briant Abyss Brut Zero 2018

Tasting Notes: Leclerc Briant Brut Réserve

The Brut Réserve serves as Leclerc Briant's entry-level offering, yet this accessible cuvée consistently exceeds expectations for its price point. This traditional blend - 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Meunier, and 20% Chardonnay - undergoes partial oak aging, creating subtle complexity while maintaining vibrant freshness.

The wine presents pale gold color with brilliant clarity and persistent fine bubbles. Enticing aromas of marzipan, praline, and sweet spices emerge, complemented by dried fruit and orange zest. The palate reveals remarkable balance between richness and freshness, with lemony acidity providing distinctive tension on the finish.

This impeccable everyday Champagne delivers complexity and elegance that far surpasses its modest positioning, making it exceptional value for both newcomers to Leclerc Briant and seasoned enthusiasts.

Tasting Notes: Leclerc Briant Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Millésime 2018

The Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Millésime 2018 is crafted exclusively from carefully selected grapes that showcase their biodynamic philosophy. This exceptional 2018 vintage captures the remarkable growing season when warm, dry conditions allowed extraordinary quality and fruitiness.

The wine presents very pale gold color with delicate green highlights and fine, persistent bubbles. On the nose, subtle aromas of lemon, white flowers, and lemon oil deliver exquisite freshness and aromatic complexity.

On the palate, the 2018 seduces with remarkable finesse and light salinity that enhances structure without overwhelming its delicate character. The wine displays extraordinary delicacy with an almost evanescent quality, leaving sensations of purity and lightness. Quite a pure Chardonnay expression in Champagne.

Tasting Notes: Leclerc Briant Rosé de Saignée Extra Brut

The Rosé de Saignée Extra Brut is crafted from 100% organic Pinot Noir using the saignée method, where grapes undergo two days of maceration to extract color and tannins. This technique produces a cherry-pink color characteristic of true saignée champagnes with fine, persistent bubbles.

The wine displays a delicate and ripe aromatic profile featuring cherries, wild strawberries, red currants, and blackcurrants on the nose, with more concentrated notes of blackcurrant, liquorice, and black pepper. On the palate, the champagne reveals creamy effervescence that develops salinity, elegance, and light vinosity. The wine combines richness and freshness with a subtle velvety texture.

With an extra brut dosage of 4 grams per liter, this singular champagne offers a gourmet, vinous, and chromatic experience that distinguishes it from lighter rosé styles.

Tasting Notes: Leclerc Briant Blanc de Meuniers Brut Zero 2016

The 2016 Blanc de Meuniers Brut Zero represents a groundbreaking approach to Pinot Meunier, crafted exclusively from Premier Cru vineyards. Fermented in oak barrels with 10 months aging on lees, this wine demonstrates Leclerc Briant's innovative philosophy.

The wine displays a bright, tight nose with floral character and yellow plum fruit, complemented by light toast notes from oak aging. On the palate, the champagne reveals steely acidity framing macerated blackberry and cherry fruit, walnut skin, and lemon peel with smoky undertones. The texture is notably firm and almost crunchy, developing a pulpy, fruity flesh supported by orange acidity.

At zero dosage, this wine offers a clean and mineral-driven expression that changes the preconceptions about Pinot Meunier's, finishing with refined, candied aromatics.

Tasting Notes: Leclerc Briant Abyss Brut Zero 2018

The Leclerc Briant Abyss Brut Zero 2018 stands as Leclerc Briant's most revolutionary wine and most innovative expression, representing the house's groundbreaking underwater aging philosophy at its pinnacle. This extraordinary cuvée undergoes 15 months of aging at 60 meters depth off Brittany's coast, creating what cellar master Hervé Jestin calls "permanent dynamization" through oceanic currents.

The wine displays intense pale yellow color with flashes straw and persistent fine mousse. On the nose, fruity maturity combines with distinctive marine notes of sea spray and menthol accents, followed by lemon and warm spice aromas after aeration. The palate reveals medium to full body with ethereal precision, perfectly balanced with pinpoint mousse and gastronomic bitterness.

Most remarkably, there's a genuine ocean breeziness that doesn't overpower the fruit but actually makes everything taste cleaner and brighter. The finish is crisp and mineral-driven with that distinctive chalk-like backbone, proving that sometimes the most unusual ideas create the most memorable wines.

Which Leclerc Briant Will You Try First?

These five exceptional bottles perfectly capture why so many wine lovers have fallen for Leclerc Briant—they've been pushing boundaries and respecting nature for over 150 years, and it really shows in every sip. Whether you want to ease in with their approachable Brut Réserve or jump headfirst into the mind-blowing underwater-aged Abyss, you can see why even the toughest critics can't stop raving about what Leclerc Briant is doing.

What's amazing about this house is how they've turned their 30 biodynamic hectares into a playground for wine innovation without ever losing sight of what makes great Champagne. So grab a bottle and taste what happens when passionate winemakers let nature lead the way, we promise it's an experience you won't forget.