Champagne's first organic farming
Leclerc Briand was founded in Cumières in 1872. In 1955, Bertrand, the fourth generation, introduced organic farming for the first time in Champagne.
Bertrand's son "Pascal" studied Rudolf Steiner and further sublimated his father's ideas.
"Finally introduced biodynamics in 1985 and became the first biodynamic domaine in the history of Champagne."
However, in 2010, he passed away suddenly, and the remaining four daughters were too young to continue the winery. He gave up trying to survive on his own and was handed over to three people.
"Winer Hervé Jestin, ex-Moët & Chandon director Frédéric Demet. And an American investor became a joint owner.”
Thus, in 2012, a new Leclerc Brian was born, centered on "Herve Jestin".
"An American who is a supporter of Hervé invested and rebuilt the brewery. We are aiming for the culmination of Hervé by creating an environment for pursuing Hervé's ideals.”
The brewery is complete with amphoras, woofs, grounded stainless steel tanks, gold-coated barrels and many experimental fermentation and maturation vessels.
"In line with this, Hervé decided to quit all consultants and concentrate on Leclerc Briand, aiming for the culmination of himself."
Hervé Jestin
Since his father ran Negochan, he experienced wine from the age of 7 and studied at brewing school. In 1982, he became the brewing manager of "Duval-Leroy". It took 25 years to push it up to one of the top maisons.
“If you learn and experience brewing, microorganisms, geology, and fermentation physics, you can make delicious wine. But a truly great wine cannot be made on its own.”
To make a truly great wine, it was not about zymology, but about following all the steps with "good intentions" and getting the energy of the earth and the universe through the grapes.
“For example, reduction is also lack of ‘good intentions’. If you feel the condition of the wine carefully and do what the wine asks for, you will not give back.”
Before bottling, a portion of the wine is extracted, touched, and returned to the tank. In this operation the wine experiences the glass and is ready for bottling.
Bottling takes place in July after the grapes have bloomed. This is also good intentions. Do not bottle before blooming. Then the wine is not ready to leave the vine.
“Repeating a little bit of 'good intentions' like this reduces the stress of the wine, and the information that the wine holds comes out as an honest taste. This is what “purity” is.”
Herve says Steiner's theory is out of date. He says that since the earth has changed from a century ago, biodynamics must also change.
At the same time, the biodynamic concept of cultivation is practiced, but biodynamics at the vinification stage is not practiced. I realized I needed this.
“Biodynamic cultivation begins with knowing what the vines want. Brewing also begins with understanding what the must and wine are looking for.”
For example, pressing destroys the tissue of grapes, a state of chaos for grapes. Fermentation starts from that state, so you have to let it rest gently.
And since alcoholic fermentation is under the influence of the sun and malolactic fermentation is under the influence of Mars, humans cannot control it.
“If you understand the life cycle of grapes and wine, you can say that fermentation is the work of transferring information from the earth and the universe to wine. The state of the earth is also related to wine.”
energy and resonance
Aside from aroma and taste, there is energy involved in what humans perceive as great wines. Maximizing that energy is the most important thing for Hervé.
“We can measure the amount of energy in wine with a Leschule antenna invented by a physicist in the 1950s. My wine is 200,000 Bobby'
About 12,000 for normal wine. Organic wines are around 18,000 and biodynamic around 30,000, but his wines go up to 50,000-200,000.
"Energy has nothing to do with taste. It's like a resonance, a fit with the human body, one element that drives people's emotions.
Hervé's "resonance" is to transfer information to wine, and the idea that wine is a messenger of nature, so we must obtain information from the fields, grapes, earth, and the universe.
“Kidaru strongly resonates with the earth. Amphora "Resonates with the universe. A barrel lined with gold can get a resonance with the sun."
Aging with different materials Transfers various information to the wine in a cheerful way. In terms of grape varieties, Chardonnay is space and Pinot Noir is earth. It is important to transfer and balance this information.
The new cuvée "Pur Cramant" has successfully added no antioxidants.
“Teach the wines that oxygen is not their enemy, and create a place for each other so that they can accept oxygen in a healthy way.”
Elve's wines, which have been improved at every step with good intentions, pay close attention to areas other than brewing technology. It has energy and nature's message (healing) that makes the drinker happy.
