The night before the end of the Burgundy (and Champagne) Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: From Lyon to Paris - Wine, Food, Culture and History, France in Paris, we stayed in Épernay, the capital of Champagne, and had dinner at the Michelin-starred Restaurant Les Berceaux. (See separate posting for the dinner).
Before dinner, some of us went on a tour of l'Avenue de Champagne and had a Champagne tasting there. Its name derives from the presence of many leading Champagne producers such as Moët et Chandon, Mercier and others.
On the next day, before going to Paris, we had a tour of Mercier. (See separate posting).
Hotel Jean Moët
We stayed at Hotel Jean Moët, a 5 star exquisite boutique hotel around the corner of l'Avenue de Champagne.
L'Avenue de Champagne (The Champagne Avenue) in Epernay
The Avenue de Champagne extends for nearly 1 km, lined on both sides by magnificent private dwellings lovingly constructed by the Champagne Houses. Below them are about 100 km of wine cellars.
The late 17th Century marked the construction of magnificent cellars, which by the end of the 18th Century made this avenue the address of choice for pioneering Epernay Champagne producers. Some were originally built as a Head Office, others as the private home of the proprietor.
The arrival of the railway then brought a boom in business that fostered a taste for architecture on a monumental scale. The avenue became home to grandiose properties of every style that were constantly rebuilt as successive wars and fires took their toll.
Famous residents of the avenue include such great names in Champagne as Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët, Boizel, de Venoge, Vranken, Pol Roger, Mercier and G.H. Martel.
The Avenue de Champagne is now a (UNESCO) World Heritage site, listed under the heading Champagne hillsides, Houses and Cellars.
Tour of the l'Avenue de Champagne
We walked up and down l'Avenue de Champagne and took pictures. We stopped for a tasting of Leclerc Briant Champagne.
Champagne Tasting at Leclerc Briant
winebow.com: Leclerc Briant is a trailblazing Champagne house producing wines of singular energy and nerve. Lucien Leclerc founded the winery with four hectares of vineyards in Cumières in 1872. The business moved to Épernay in 1955 when Bertrand Leclerc married Jacqueline Briant and formed the négociant firm which still carries their name. Leclerc Briant was an early adopter of organic practices beginning in the 1960’s and was one of the first to bottle single-vineyard Champagnes starting in the 1970’s. In the late 1980’s, Bertrand and Jacqueline’s son, Pascal, began integrating biodynamic principles and part of the production has been Demeter certified since 2003. Today, enologist Hervé Jestin continues the legacy of this visionary house.
Location of Vineyard
La Croisette is the home vineyard of Leclerc Briant, a 0.6 -hectare plot adjacent to the winery in Épernay, planted in 1966 to Chardonnay. Remarkably, this vineyard has never been treated with herbicides or pesticides. The remaining 9.6 hectares of vineyard are spread between the Premier Cru villages of Cumières, Hautvillers, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Bisseuil in the Vallée de la Marne, Villers-Allerand and Rilly la Montagne in Montagne de Reims and in the Grand Cru villages of Cramant and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in the Côte des Blancs. A small amount of Pinot Noir is sourced from the Aube. Leclerc Briant also holds long term contracts with another 8 hectares of biodynamically farmed vineyards.
Winemaking Philosophy
Oenologist Hervé Jestin has overseen production since 2008, taking a distinctly non-interventionist position: “Our vines and our wines have a certain sort of independence,” says Hervé. “We provide guidance and care, but don’t want to force anything.” Hervé is a respected expert in biodynamic farming and is a forefather of bioenergetics, a movement among a small group of vignerons who are working to bring the energy of nature to the finished wine. All fermentation is spontaneous, and the wines are vinified in a combination of INOX tank, terracotta egg or French oak barrel. Malolactic fermentation is allowed to happen naturally and dosage levels are kept low (below 4g/L). All the wines are bottled 100% unfiltered and unfined, using only time and gravity for clarification. The end goal is gastronomic Champagne, wines intended for the table, that brim with energy and speak clearly of their terroir.
Dinner at 1-Michelin star restaurant Les Berceaux in Épernay.
Chef Patrick Michelon spoiled us with an excellent menu. His wife Lydie Michelon greeted us. (See separate posting).
Burgundy (and Champagne) Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: From Lyon to Paris - Wine, Food, Culture and History (Forthcoming an already relased Postings)
Burgundy (and Champagne) Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: From Lyon to Paris - Wine, Food, Culture and History, France
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Tour of the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay
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Cellar visit and tasting at the Champagne House Mercier in Épernay
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