Q&A Alexandre from Champagne Brimoncourt
We recently visited our friends in France at Champagne Brimoncourt, to discuss their niche champagne, history and heritage, and the synergy between our two companies. A day that was well worth the journey!
NB all clothing worn is Campbell’s
Alexandre, tell us a little about yourself? Your background and your career before Brimoncourt?
I was born in Reims, some years ago in a family of a funny mix of both military and artistic tradition…and it made me become…a lawyer, after I graduated from Assas & La Sorbonne Law Schools in Paris.
I then spent two years in the French Navy as a marine to keep up with the family’s tradition, worked in a Paris big firm till I quit it all and moved to New-York to become an…intern! in a big famous auction house. That move was somehow a tribute and certainly lead by the art attraction side of us.
Lots of fun there, my special graduation in Gin (Beefeater) Martini expertise, easy to get in Manhattan and a lot of trips to Cape Cod and the Hamptons where we have relatives.
In any case, I didn’t get back to the law practice after that and I started to buy and sell or deal works of art from the modern period, paintings, sculptures, Rodin, Degas etc…
What made you want to buy a printing company?
But I never ever wanted to buy a printing company! No, in fact it just happened by chance. I was trying to help a bankrupt friend whose family had owned the factory for over a century, but he finally left me with the whole mess that I luckily managed to fix and dress up. I later on sold the business to a competitor and found myself left with these empty amazing 19th Century listed premises in the heart of the Champagne region…
Then, what made you want to start a Champagne, presumably with not a lot of experience? A complete career change.
Career change yes for sure, as for experience, I was born in Champagne, harvested, worked in the cellars, grew up in a family where drinking champagne was a mandatory option and I was personally always interested in this wine, its making, its nuances, history and strong power of evocation.
Taking over Brimoncourt to revive it was a huge entrepreneurial challenge as well as a great combination of my taste for “doing” and expressing through the wine itself and the universe that surrounds it with the brand.
In that sense the history and recent history of Campbell’s of Beauly truly resonates with Brimoncourt, the paths are strikingly very parallel and the values of creativity and tradition in both brands do echo eachother.
For you, what are the key brand values of Brimoncourt?
I would say, life is a journey, better do it in first class, and have it elegant…and fun! As your great author and actor Noel Coward would say: “Why do I drink Champagne for breakfast? Well, doesn’t everybody do so?”
At Campbell’s, we refer to ourselves as niche, and we like that! Sometimes it’s good to be niche when there are so many mainstream “brands” about. What distinguishes Brimoncourt from the crowd?
Brimoncourt is often portrayed as a Boutique Champagne house and we actually like that too. It’s a good definition of us and it suits our clientele who I believe are either educated, confident or spiritual or all three! But caution, our promise of being located in the best 100% Grand Cru area is also a responsibility, our clients are quite knowledgeable about wine and Champagne in particular, you can’t fool them (and I don’t want to trick myself either) that’s why we deliver the finest quality.
Tell us a little about the range of champagne’s you produce at Brimoncourt? I particularly enjoyed the Blanc de Blancs!
Talking range and quality, that means, lots of chardonnay, like A LOT since our Brut is one of the very rare on the market to blend 80% of Chardonnay with 20% of pinot noir. This ensures a great freshness of the taste.
Fine quality also means, 4 years minimum ageing on lies and this is how you get these very fine bubbles in your glass.
A low dosage of added sugar, 5 to 6 grams, for the lightness of this wine.
So I would summarize our typical expression in three words: freshness, lightness, fineness. If with this you are not a happy Champagne drinker, I don’t know what else to do!
The Blanc de Blancs that you liked is of course a hundred percent Chardonnay blend from the Côte des Blancs, quite mineral like the soil it grows in (90 meters deep of white chalk…) nice tension and low dosage again. This is a very fresh champagne with a hint of technicity that comes from its straightness and minerality.
You should try our Rosé and the Extra Brut we served to the one thousand guests of the Versailles Chateau for the celebration of Queen Victoria and France alliance the “Entente Cordiale” in 2023.
We were delighted to drink Champagne with our lunch when in the region. Which is the best Champagne type to enjoy over lunch with food? Because many in the UK would assume Champagne is mainly an apertif ?
Our Brut Régence is indeed perfect as an aperitif from 7am to 6am next day, it’s so fresh that one cannot get tired of it.
Beyond that you are perfectly right there are some great pairings out there. I would suggest trying our Blanc de Blancs with a nice sushi platter and a great movie: nice evening guaranteed.
You may want to try our Rosé with your great stilton cheese and our Extra Brut with slightly seasoned scallops… umami for sure
Can we buy Brimoncourt in the UK?
In London you’ll find us on a number of fine tables or venues, The 67 Pall Mall club for instance or The Fat Duck, Boisdales, Adam Handling’s or Sketch to name a few.
You can buy Brimoncourt on line at https://wanderlustwine.co.uk/
