Le Brun Servenay

Le Brun Servenay is a family estate in Avize, the grand cru village at the heart of the Côte des Blancs. The house works as a récoltant-manipulant, meaning a grower who makes champagne from their own grapes. The maison traces its origins to the marriage of two old winegrowing families in 1965.

Two families, five generations

On the paternal side, the Le Bruns worked vines in Avize for four generations, while on the maternal side the Servenays farmed in Mancy, a few kilometres to the west, for as many as five. The Le Bruns originally planted only Chardonnay, the Servenays Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Patrick Le Brun handed the estate over in 2017 to his son Gauthier, who represents the fifth generation.

Vineyards and style

The estate farms around 7 hectares in three grand cru villages, 80 per cent planted with Chardonnay and the rest with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The vineyard sites include Avize, Cramant and Oger. The oldest vines are 80 years old, and two of them are even 100.

The house style is classic and tightly drawn. The wines are made reductively, without oak and without malolactic fermentation. Vinification is done plot by plot in small 30-hectolitre stainless steel tanks. The dosage is low. The estate bottles around 40,000 bottles a year.

The range includes an Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru, the Chardonnay Vieilles Vignes (2006 vintage), the Cuvée Juste Rosé, the Odalie Brut and the Exhilarante 2008. The Odalie blends 50 per cent Chardonnay with 25 per cent each of Meunier and Pinot Noir. The name Odalie recalls the union of the two families.

Visiting and tasting

The house is at 14 Place Léon Bourgeois in Avize. It welcomes guests to discover its history and its cuvées. Opening hours are given as Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 5.30pm. You can reach the estate by phone on +33 3 26 57 52 75.