Bottle n° 1:
Champagne Leclerc Briant
(Village de Épernay / Vallée de la Marne) – Cuvée Millésime 2018 (75 cl) – 50% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay et 15% Meunier – Vendange 2018 – Vinifié et élevé 9 mois en fût – Dégorgement en août 2023 – Extra Brut.

Located in Epernay, the Leclerc Briant estate, after a long history that began in 1872, has been totally renewed in 2012 under the leadership of the spirited Frederic Zeimett and the oh-so-magical baton of the very solar cellar master Hervé Jestin. An essential and long-awaited first missing link between the big houses and independent winemakers, the domaine proves that it is possible to make Big and Good, delighting champagne lovers while preserving the environment. The 2018 vintage is a perfect example of this.

All three of us share core values around the importance of biodynamics and the need to make and drink wines that are highly vibrant and naturally alive.

Bottle n° 2:
Champagne Piollot
(Village de Polisot / Aube) – Cuvée Mepetit (Blanc de Noirs 75 cl) – 100% Meunier issus de sélection massale – Sol argilo-calcaire – Certifié AB – Brut Nature.

For years, Roland Piollot has been flying under the hype radar, an unexpected opportunity for lovers of real champagnes. And yet, it's all there: five generations of experience, magnificent vineyards and soils in the heart of the Côte des Bars, just a stone's throw from Burgundy, organic viticulture combined with biodynamic practices, a healthy, ripe harvest, 4 years of ageing... everything you'd expect from a good champagne is here - all that's missing is you! But don't talk too much about it!

Bottle n° 3:
Champagne Thomas Perseval
(Village de Chamery / Petite Montagne de Reims) – Cuvée La Grande Cuvée (75cl) – Assemblage à parts égales de Pinot Noir, Meunier et Chardonnay – Tirage en août 2016 – Dégorgé à la volée en décembre 2022 – Agriculture Biologique – Brut Nature.

Thomas Perseval has never delivered a cuvée that wasn't extraordinary, so recommending a bottle from this winemaker is always an embarrassment. Thomas is a farmer based in Chamery (between Reims and Epernay), owning just five parcels of land from which he produces only the very best each year. If you like champagnes with an extremely delicate mouthfeel, wonderful aromatics and perfect balance, this bottle is for you.

Bottle n° 4:
Champagne Augustin
(Village d’Avenay-Val-D’Or / Vallée de la Marne) – Cuvée 116 Pinot Noir sans souffre (Blanc de Noirs 75cl) – 100% Pinot Noir – Tirage 2015 – Dégorgé en août 2021 – Brut.

Warning: pirate champagne! Marc Augustin doesn't do anything like the others. When you walk through the estate's front door, anything can happen, just like in Alice in Wonderland. I imagine that some Cartesian-minded champagne lovers must think he's crazy: Marc talks to his vines, to the elements, to the wine, does certain treatments by thought, and doesn't tell us everything! Thanks to him, I've learned not to judge what he says, and to concentrate on the result. While anything is possible in his cuvées, this one lacks neither energy nor flavor, let alone emotion. A bottle not for everyone.

Bottle n° 5:
Champagne David Léclapart
(Village de Trépail / Montagne de Reims) – Cuvée L’Aphrodisiaque (75cl) – Assemblage de Chardonnay 80% et Pinot Noir 20% – Vendange 2016 – Certification AB et Demeter – Brut Nature.

We no longer need to introduce the man I used to call the "Little Prince of Champagne" nearly 20 years ago. Everything has been said and written about him, and his wines are often hidden in wine shops and featured on the menus of the world's finest restaurants. The l'Aphrodisiaque cuvée was born in 2012 after a year of difficult weather. David had harvested very few grapes, so he chose to blend them. Without knowing it, he gave birth to what is perhaps the best of his cuvées: a bomb of energy and flavor.

Bottle n° 6:
Champagne Barrat-Masson
(Village de Villenauxe-la-Grande / Côte Sezannaise) – Collection La Grande Homée (Rosé de Saignée 75cl) – 100% Pinot noir – Vendange 2018 – Dégorgé en juin 2021 – Agriculture Biologique – Brut Nature.

Many champagne lovers are wary of rosé champagnes, which have a bad reputation as women's champagnes, often light and heavy-handed, as if we couldn't be men’s equal (even when it comes to champagne!). Far from these outdated, macho concepts, Aurélie and Loic have selected their best bunches of Pinot Noir grapes from their vineyards, de-stemmed them and left them to macerate for 24 hours. The result is a genuine wine with an intense ruby color and intense red fruit notes. Believe me, it's a far cry from chick wine.