A Visit with Alexandre Le Brun

The last time that I was in Champagne, four years ago, fatefully led to Gary and I meeting Alexandre Le Brun. On our last day, staying in Paris, I received an email from Eric “Butters” Story saying that 10 small winemakers would soon be in SF and could we go try their wines and have them come to the store for a tour? Gary, of course, jumped on that opportunity, and that is how we met Alexandre Le Brun and Vivienne Lamoureux, both of whom we shortly signed on to directly import. It’s been a great relationship ever since, as both of these producers have become customer favorites.

On this current trip, I had the occasion to visit both of them (in France) for the first time. Alex is a do-it-yourself winemaker and the entire winemaking process from start to finish is his, and his alone. Like every winemaker that I have met in Champagne, he is no slouch. We were greeted at his winery by his cat, Ninja, who followed us faithfully around the winery…. in the places that he was allowed, that is. After a very nice espresso to wake us up, we went into the cellar to try the 2019 vin clair. We tried Chardonnay from tank, foudre, barrel, and various vineyard sources. They ranged from having highly acidic grapefruit flavors, to lemon meringue, to buttery and toasted coconut. That’s the fun of trying vin clair! Every sample can be so different.

The 2019 Brut Tradition sample was wonderful, with lemon, orange, and apple flavors. We always sell out of this one. His 2019 “Fascination” had great acidity with orange blossom and muscat flavors. A Sezanne Pinot Noir sample was big and floral, with rich yellow fruits, while the 2019 “Revelation” had a big, rich, nose and was quite nutty with lemon and spice. From there, it was onto current and upcoming releases. For current releases, a re-taste of the 2012 “Revelation” Brut, a marvel of Pinot Meunier, with a rich, caramel, and baked-pear nose. On the palate, hints of truffles, baking spices and pear, of course. A very fine bead and cream round out a long finish. Yum! We also tried the 2012 “Cuvée Dilection” Brut Rose, with its savory nose, blood orange fruit, and cherry liqueur flavors. It has a long finish of smoky cherries and orange marmalade. Although it won’t be released for a bit, we do currently have the 2009 “Cuvee Dilection,” which was a hit at our Valentine’s Day Brut Rose tasting. The 2009 version has a higher Chardonnay content (85%) and it comes off, initially, as a little more tart but, this rounds out to cherry cream and dark strawberry fruit. Does NOT taste like it has 0 grams of sugar! Dieters rejoice! It was great fun to see Alex’s new cellar, just finished, as well as the one that his father built 21 years ago, and lastly, the original one built in 1822. Check out the pic with a picture/painting of Alex and his son. Can you guess which is which? There is quite the resemblance!