Wine with Leslie Williams

When we think of Champagne we tend to think of the big brand houses who spend fortunes every year on marketing so it’s easy to forget the smaller quality-conscious houses and growers plugging away in their wake.

The big guys are so brand focused that you will rarely hear words like organic or even learn much about the grapes used. Going organic in Champagne is more difficult than elsewhere but some persist (eg, Champagnes of Fleury), and this week I want to focus briefly on a new producer to the market Leclerc Briant. Imported by Charles Derain of Nomad wines, Leclerc Briant was founded in 1872 and was family run until 2012. The house has been growing grapes bio-dynamically and organically since the 1960s and have been certified since the 1980s.