Visiting Alexandre Le Brun and Getting Excited for the 2024s from Champagne
Every time I go to the picturesque, hilltop town of Monthelon to visit Alex Le Brun, he wears his Giants gear, and it makes me feel so welcome. We looked in the vineyards, tasted his 2024 vin clair (the still wine before the second fermentation in the bottle) and also his current and a few upcoming releases. It was the best part of my day!
He told me the 2024 growing season was l’enfer—a hellish amount of work for him. He couldn’t take a weekend off to go anywhere, or even a short break, because the constant rain threatened mildew and botrytis. He did the work, and he got the reward: the 2024s we tasted reminded me a lot of the 2002s I tasted now so many years ago from tank. It is going to be a very good year for quality, even if it wasn’t easy work.
Going through his range at his kitchen table, it was certainly the 2019 Alexandre Le Brun "Cuvée Revelation" Brut Champagne $58.99 that stood out to me the most. This wine, made from his ancient plot “Les Vignes d’Etoges,” is 100% Meunier, all barrel-fermented Champagne from vines that are half from 1950 and half from 1903—the latter being the oldest vines I have ever seen in the region, planted just after Phylloxera. This site, on the slopes of Monthelon in the sub region of sud-Epernay, benefits from the much cooler temperatures of this part of the region. Instead of the tarte tatin flavors that I often find in south-facing Meunier offerings from places like Venteuil, Cumières, or Reuil, this has taught, crisp pear and a frame of elegant baguette toast. The layers of savory noughat and nutty complexity are beguiling, but the back end of the wine is all refreshment; the finish is dry, crisp, and super long. It is an incredible wine for pairing with pâté and will age super gracefully in the cellar.
A toast to you!