Le Mont Benoit Premier Cru Extra Brut NV Emmanuel Brochet

Tasting Note Le Mont Benoit Premier Cru Extra Brut NV

Beneath the fruit aromas lie notes of leather and yeast sediment, with Le Mont Benoit's characteristic chalky flavor running through the midpalate. With a sugar content of 2 grams per liter, it is dry, lacking the sweetness that would soften the finish, and feels slightly austere on the edges. Pinot Meunier adds richness, while Chardonnay adds tension. This Emmanuel Brochet Le Mont Benoit bottling, disgorged in December 2025, still has developing lees character.

Grape Varieties

Meunier does not play a supporting role here, and this is what sets Brochet apart from many of the Montagne de Reims wines. The vineyard composition of Le Mont Benoit is roughly as follows:

• Pinot Meunier: Accounts for the largest share, at about 40%
• Chardonnay: Accounts for about one-third, with the vineyards near the hilltop being the finest
• Pinot Noir: Accounts for the remainder

Meunier contributes red fruit flavors, Chardonnay provides acidity, and Pinot Noir forms the wine's structure.

Cellaring Potential

It is best enjoyed between 2027 and 2036. Low residual sugar and firm acidity form the backbone of the wine, while the base fermented in oak barrels provides sufficient body to support the wine as the flavors from the lees develop. Serve at 8-10°C. If served any colder than this, the chalky texture of the medium-bodied palate will disappear. Decanting is not necessary, but a white wine glass is more suitable than a flute.

About Emmanuel Brochet

Villers-aux-Noeuds sits south of Reims and barely registers in most Champagne books, which makes Emmanuel Brochet's work there easy to miss. He farms one vineyard, the 2.5-hectare Le Mont Benoit, classified Premier Cru, on soil of silt, clay and chalk. Until the lease to négociants expired in 1997, the family's grapes left the village. Brochet took over the plot himself and has been certified organic since 2011. Pinot Meunier covers the largest share, around 40 percent, with Chardonnay about a third and Pinot Noir the rest, and the oldest vines date to 1962. Pressing is done on a vertical press, fermentation happens in used barriques with indigenous yeasts, and nothing is filtered. Dosage stays low enough that every cuvée is Extra Brut. Annual production runs to a few thousand bottles.

Terroir & Climate

The topsoil layer at Le Mont Benoit is only about 30 centimeters deep, with silt, clay, and chalk beneath it. The grapevine roots quickly penetrate down to the bedrock, which is the source of the salty taste and tight mid-palate. Sunlight conditions are another key element of this story. This vineyard is starkly influenced by the weather, it is colder when it's cold, hotter when it's hot, and windier when the wind blows. Classified Premier Cru in Montagne de Reims, in a village down to roughly 25 hectares of vines.

Winemaking

The pressing process determines the character of the wine. Brochet uses a traditional vertical press at the legally permitted minimum capacity, retaining only the cuvée, the heart of the juice, and selling most of the tailles. Since 2016, he has been fermenting in oak barrels using yeast selected directly from Le Mont Benoit, and in recent years, he has been conducting secondary fermentation in the bottle using naturally occurring yeast. The wine undergoes no filtration or clarification whatsoever. This is one of the reasons why the texture of this wine feels rough, in a positive sense.

Food Pairing

Thanks to its low sugar content and saline edge, Le Mont Benoit is better suited for pairing with food than as an aperitif. Recommended pairings:

• Oysters: Served raw, without mignonette sauce
• Roast: Chicken with a crispy skin. where the Meunier flesh matches the fat
• Seared: Scallops
• Aged Comté: A salty flavor that contrasts with the wine's chalky notes

It also pairs well with fried dishes. The wine's acidity cuts through the richness cleanly.