Hearts in Marlborough since 1980, roots in Champagne since 1684
The Le Brun Family in Champagne
Records from 1750 in Monthelon in the Champagne district are the first indication of Champagne Le Brun. Since then, members of the Le Brun family have continued the tradition.
Today, Champagne Alexandre le Brun in the Monthelon (Marne) region of Champagne, Champagne Glavier Le Brun near Cramant and Champagne Jorez Le Brun in Ludes cultivate their vines with love and make their champagnes with passion.
Daniel Le Brun has been called the grandfather of Méthode Traditionelle in New Zealand.
Daniel is involved in every stage of creating the wines and is somewhat of a perfectionist, never wavering in his commitment to creating wine the way he learned from his father in Champagne.
Daniel’s wife, Adele, is responsible for marketing and business development. Being passionate about the future for New Zealand Méthode Traditionelle in the worldwide market they are dedicated to building recognition and respect for the heritage and quality of Marlborough’s Méthode Traditionelle wines.
Virginie joined the family business as Global Brand Ambassador and is now the Domestic & International Sales Director based in Auckland.
Remy is finishing his bachelor’s degree in Viticulture and Oenology and is managing the vineyard in Marlborough.
Image credit – No.1 Family Estate
In the early days, as Daniel Le Brun pioneered growing techniques and production methods unknown in New Zealand at the time, he became known as ‘the crazy Frenchman’.
But Daniel could see that the climate and soils of Marlborough would make crisp and acidic wine that would age beautifully, meaning that it works perfectly for good bubbles.
Marlborough has the ideal climate for viticulture with high sunshine hours, moderate rainfall (550mm per annum) and high summer temperatures, cool dry autumns, and cold winters.
Their vineyard lies in the riverbed of the Wairau River. It is mainly flat terrain with soil that is a mixture of river stones, sandy loams and gravels which are ideal for growing the traditional champagne clones of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The vineyard has had sustainability certification since 2009.
As No. 1 Family Estate’s reputation has grown, so has the number of friends and colleagues producing fine Méthode Traditionelle wine in Marlborough. Méthode Marlborough, a group of 10 highly regarded Marlborough producers, was established to ensure the quality and heritage of Marlborough’s finest Méthode Traditionelle.
No. 1 Assemblé is the the first wine in New Zealand to be labelled as “Méthode Marlborough” instead of Méthode Traditionelle.
Image credit – No.1 Family Estate
All Méthode Marlborough wines follow strict criteria: they must be made exclusively from Marlborough-grown pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier as a blend or alone. These are the varieties recognised as the benchmark for champagne and Méthode Traditionelle producers around the world.
Méthode Marlborough wines must follow the traditional method of secondary fermentation in the bottle, followed by riddling and ageing for a minimum of 18 months on lees before disgorging.
Image credit – No.1 Family Estate
Be sure to check out our interview with No.1 Family Estate wines https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F1Pn9-yayc&t=1s
