Legras et Haas – Chouilly 

Legras & Haas is a family-run Champagne winery founded in 1991 by Brigitte Haas and François Legras in Choully. François Legras inherited the family tradition of Champagne making, which dates back to the late 19th century. Before founding his own winery, François was the winemaker, like his ancestors since the 16th century. Today, the vineyards and winery are managed by his three sons, Olivier, Rémi, and Jérôme. The family cultivates 18 hectares of vineyards, and together they produce authentic and balanced wines.

The genesis of the House

Brigitte Haas

Brigitte Haas possesses an innate ability to share her passion for precise and elegant wines with those who visit the House in Chouilly. This warm and charismatic Lady of the House has never considered herself the owner of the property, but rather sees her role as "passing the baton" to her children, who have now been given the responsibility of continuing this life's work. With her unwavering devotion and high standards, she continues to influence their choices and decisions at the Domaine. 

After reading an advertisement in the local Alsatian newspaper, Brigitte arrived in Champagne in the 1960s in her old white Citroën DS. A winery was looking for a trilingual assistant, and she worked in this position for the next year and a half. She soon integrated herself into the Champagne microcosm and developed a deep passion for her new adopted region—a region she hasn't left since. She bought her first vineyard in 1974 in Épernay, fascinated by the beauty of the Champagne hills, and began her viticultural training.

In 1983, he opened his own winery, marking the beginning of the next phase. In 1991, together with François, he founded Legras & Haas, with his characteristic dedication, patience, and practical approach. 

A winemaker's journey

WITH FRANÇOIS LEGRAS

François Legras never misses a morning newspaper and another morning ritual: tirelessly inspecting the family vineyards. With his characteristic dedication, he walks the rows of vines while reflecting on the future, his craft, and the possibilities for the company's evolution. His visions and perspectives profoundly influence his children's work.

Except for a few years at a boarding school in Reims and military service, nothing has kept him away from his beloved hometown. He was always willing to help his father in the vineyards and fields, and learned the skills of an oenologist and winemaker from him from the age of 16.

Core Values 

Olivier Legras

Independence runs in the family's blood; it's an integral part of their DNA, and this is clearly reflected in their decisions. Their experience and objectivity translate into a freedom of choice that greatly benefits the quality of their champagnes. Olivier joined the house at 21. At the time, he was studying oenology, and his parents had just founded Legras et Haas. He didn't hesitate to join them! He loves the craft, he loves the region, and Legras & Haas is an exciting adventure.

The craft of a winemaker

Rémi

Precise gestures, respect for nature, a thirst for innovation… The touch of a farmer made of respect, wonder, and innovation, always… Rémi's job is to be a winemaker, and this consists of accompanying the vineyards, letting himself be guided by nature to produce grapes that reflect their origin and develop their full aromatic potential. The family has been producing grapes for over 400 years, and it's no coincidence that they continue to exist. Each era has presented new challenges, and the family has known how to adapt, plan, and remain open to the world and to new developments, with an eye to the future.

Welcoming the harvests

Maxime and Jérôme

Jérôme joined his brothers when he was 24. He is the ambassador of the house, the face of Legras Haas in France and around the world. His main focus is customer relations (something he learned from his mother, Brigitte), showing the world, through a glass, the hard work the entire family puts in, harvest after harvest. 

Teamwork is fundamental to the house's approach, especially when it comes to blends. Rémi, Olivier, Jérôme, and the house winemaker, Maxime, craft all blends together with an open mind.

Maxime comes from a family of winegrowers and grew up on a large wine estate in Lebanon. He met the Legras-Haas family in 2020 during his final internship at the DNO and joined the house in 2022. The house has a strong curriculum and major projects. Legras & Haas masterfully leverages the diversity of its vineyards, viticulture, and reserve wines to reflect the exceptional maturity of Chouilly, the freshness of Perthois, and the strength of Riceys. With the ambition to achieve greater precision and more intense emotions each year.

Maxime Viene
Jérôme

The Terroir – Cote de Blanc

Textures and Emotions – Chouilly

Chouilly, the northernmost Grand Cru village in the Côte des Blancs, is the birthplace of the Legras-Haas family and the birthplace of their wines. The family cultivates 18 hectares of vineyards on these exceptional hills.

The family estate has 35 plots with an extraordinary diversity of Chardonnay styles. Chouilly benefits from a predominantly eastern and northern exposure. The Chouilly subsoil is composed primarily of hard Belemnite chalk. The westernmost plots, near Épernay, as well as the northern and eastern slopes of Mont Aigu, are composed of an older deposit of Quadrata. 

These sedimentary rocks are unique in that they can store up to 401 t/3 t of their volume in water, thus providing the vine with constant levels of moisture. Differences in the depth of the cultivable horizon play a key role in the textural diversity of wines.

The result is truly extraordinary: the wines are accessible from the outset and display a rich, aromatic, and elegant style. Silky textures and an approachable style, combined with complexity and bottle-aging potential, are the hallmarks of an exceptional terroir.

All Chouilly de Legras & Haas wines tell the story of their origins. The Partelaines area, bordering Épernay to the west and Mont Aigu to the east, provides delicate aromas and intense freshness, while the heart of the village gives the wines depth and balance.

The secret land of Chardonnay – Vitry

The Legras-Haas family cultivates 12 hectares of vineyards near Vitry, one of the finest terroirs for Chardonnay in Champagne. These mature vines wind through the slopes of Perthois, near Vitry-le-François, renowned for its limestone and clay soils with excellent water regulation properties. Wines from this terroir offer incredible finesse, structure, and persistence combined with a rich array of ripe and yellow fruits that linger in the timeless finish. There is a certain subtlety and ethereality within the Vision wines that lend a remarkable elegance.

Multiple Faces and Exhibitions – Les Riceys

The soils are located in a Kimmeridgian belt with layers of marl and hard limestone that formed 155 million years ago. The undulating subsoils result in the high variability of the graph and its clear reactivity to climate.

The Wines

Brut Intuition 

The Intuition cuvée is the quintessence of the Maison's style and the result of a very personal approach. With this wine, the family seeks to reflect their vision of the ultimate Champagne. The production process is an exercise in balance that requires a great deal of creativity. The incredible diversity of the family estate is perfectly captured in this exclusive blend. The Chardonnay brings finesse, elegance, white stone fruits, and ethereal citrus notes. The Pinot Meunier provides a smooth, exotic, and comforting mouthfeel. The Pinot Noir structures the wine and adds intensity to the composition.

Storage recommendations 

Our champagnes are carefully crafted to ensure their excellent bottle aging potential. After a few years in bottle, the aromas of ripe fruit intensify and the wine begins to mellow. However, we recommend drinking this wine within the next 3 or 4 years if you want to fully appreciate its freshness.

Tasting notes Pale straw in color, the new NV Champagne Intuition Brut is based on the 2020 vintage, with 64% of Chardonnay, 22% of Pinot Noir, and the remaining 14% of Pinot Meunier. It will be disgorged in January 2024. It opens with fresh aromas of citrus flowers, ripe peach, and a hint of almond. The palate is generous, with balanced mandarin citrus and a pleasant salty touch in the middle and finish. With a refined, approachable foam and a clean finish, it would make an excellent aperitif or can be enjoyed over the next 8-10 years.

Intuition Rosé 

With its explosion of red fruits, this rosé Champagne is an example of exquisite craftsmanship that reveals the finesse and elegance of perfectly preserved Pinot Noirs, the essence of this authentic blend, made exclusively with first-press wines. The Les Riceys reds provide structure to the wine, while the Chardonnays from Chouilly and Vitry allow the Pinots to take center stage, providing incomparable freshness.

Storage recommendation 

The elegance, precision, and fresh fruit of this rosé are best enjoyed within two years of purchase.

Tasting notes 

The winery began blocking malolactic fermentation in the Meunier to preserve its complexity. This rosé presents a bright pink color and opens with delicate, reductive, and smoky aromas that emerge from the glass, including abundant citrus notes of orange peel, raspberry, and fresh flowers. Medium-bodied and energetic, it has excellent concise structure and notes of wet stone, as well as a lively and persistent finish. A very pleasant rosé to pair with food, it will continue to improve over the next 10-12 years. The NV Brut Rosé 58% Chardonnay, 19% Pinot Noir, 11% Pinot Meunier, and 12% Pinot Noir Rosé, all from Chouilly, offer pleasant intensity in a medium-weight, vigorous style that makes it versatile at the table or even as an aperitif. Notes of crushed red fruits, blood orange, chalk, and white pepper stand out. The airy, chalky finish is very appealing. The dosage is 6 g/L. Disgorging: October 2023.

L'Évidence Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Chouilly Extra Brut 

This is a Champagne for purists. This dense and rigorous blend offers a precise and accessible vision of Champagne, combined with the saline texture of Chouilly's subsoils. The grapes are grown on the family's oldest plots, on the hilltops, where the deep-rooted vines draw their complexity from the unique parent rock of the terroir.

Storage recommendations

Our champagnes are carefully crafted to ensure excellent bottle aging potential. After a few years in bottle, the aromas of ripe fruit will intensify and the wine will begin to mellow and evolve. Consume within 6 to 7 years to fully appreciate the harmonious balance between fruit and limestone.

Tasting notes 

Although the wine is not vintage, we can firmly say that the base is 2018. This 100% Chardonnay is discreet and elegant on the nose, characterized by floral and citrus notes, apple, dried fruits, hazelnuts, and walnuts, and shows good development. On the palate, it is fresh, silky, and very persistent, with persistent notes of baked apple, caramel, and spices. The dosage is 2.5g/L, which was certainly just right for this wine. Disgorging: February 2023. 

$65.00
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