2005 Lebrun-Servenay Brut Millesime Vieilles Vignes

Le Brun-Servenay is in the town of Avise. The domaine’s wines are true grower Champagnes, since the family has been growing their own grapes and making their own wine since 1955. The 18-acre estate is notable for many reasons, one of which is that all of its vineyards are classified as Grand Cru. Though the domaine was founded only in the mid-20th century, both the Le Brun and the Servenay families have deep roots in Champagne as grape growers. In 1992 Patrick Le Brun, son of the founders, took over the estate. The estate makes 100% Chardonnay cuvees, as well as Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier blends, and Rose. Robert M. Parker Jr. has rated Le Brun-Servenay Champagnes in the low 90s, and has written that “at their best, the (Le Brun-Servenay) Champagnes offer an attractive mix of length and body, but with a minerality typical of the Cote des Blancs.”

Champagne is a small, beautiful wine growing region northeast of Paris whose famous name is misused a million times a day. As wine enthusiasts and all French people are well aware, only sparkling wines produced in Champagne from grapes grown in Champagne can be called Champagne. Sparkling wines produced anywhere else, including in other parts of France, must be called something besides Champagne. Champagne producers are justifiably protective of their wines and the prestige associated with true Champagne. Though the region was growing grapes and making wines in ancient times, it began specializing in sparkling wine in the 17th century, when a Benedictine monk named Dom Pierre Pérignon formulated a set guidelines to improve the quality of the local sparkling wines. Despite legends to the contrary, Dom Pérignon did not “invent” sparkling wine, but his rules about aggressive pruning, small yields and multiple pressings of the grapes were widely adopted, and by the 18th and 19th centuries Champagne had become the wine of choice in fashionable courts and palaces throughout Europe. Today there are 75,000 acres of vineyards in Champagne growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Champagne’s official appellation system classifies villages as Grand Cru or Premier Cru, though there are also many excellent Champagnes that simply carry the regional appellation. Along with well-known international Champagne houses there are numerous so-called “producer Champagnes,” meaning wines made by families who, usually for several or more generations, have worked their own vineyards and produced Champagne only from their own grapes.