Alexis Leconte

History of Champagne Alexis Leconte

The adventure begins in 1861 with Onésime Leconte, who brings viticulture into the family and already forges an intimate relationship with the soil. From generation to generation, one Leconte reveals another, without interruption or buyout. Aimé, the grandfather, shapes the essence of a domaine de qualité by ploughing his soils and patiently tending his vines. Xavier, the father, structures the estate during the 1980s and builds a range thanks to a new press, smaller tanks and initial soil studies. A child of the Vallée de la Marne, Alexis joins the domaine in 2013 after studying in Champagne and gaining experience in Burgundy and Alsace.

From these travels, Alexis returns with a true philosophy of terroir. From his very arrival, he eliminates herbicides, returns to ploughing, deepens his knowledge of the soils and conceives new single-lieu-dit wines of ever-greater precision. From 2015 onwards, he takes sole charge of the family estate: Champagne Xavier Leconte then gives way to Champagne A. Leconte, echoing this continuity. Its logo, in which a lion (his astrological sign) intertwines with a deeply rooted vine, encapsulates his quest: to express the living energy of the soils through honest, sincere champagnes.

Terroirs and Vines of Champagne Alexis Leconte

The vineyard of Champagne A. Leconte stretches across some forty plots scattered between Troissy, Dormans, Mareuil-le-Port, Vandières and Aÿ, allowing for the exploration of great geological diversity: sandy, sandstone, clayey, calcareous, stony, millstone and chalk soils. Pinot Meunier, long underestimated, holds a privileged place here and reveals its full versatility according to the terroir. On the deep, supple soils of sand, sandstone and clay of the Cotéas, it expresses its fruit, its generosity and its power. On the more calcareous terroirs of La Perchotte and La Forzie, the wines gain in tension and vinosity. The Chardonnay of Longues Raies, on ochre stones and millstone, delivers an elegant floral character, while the Pinot Noir of La Fosse, at Aÿ Grand Cru, draws its structure from a chalk hillock resting on red clay.

Work in the vineyard is carried out with the utmost respect for living matter. Committed since 2016 to biodynamic practices and certified in organic farming from the 2023 harvest, Alexis Leconte has cared for his soils since 2015 through ploughing, the complete abandonment of herbicides and the use of fermented plant extracts and decoctions. He intervenes sparingly, but always with precision, and works according to lunar cycles, both in the vineyard and in the cellar, in order to preserve the energy of the soil and the singularity of each plot.

Winemaking at Champagne Alexis Leconte

Winemaking at Champagne A. Leconte rests on a simple conviction: only clear, still wines of great precision deserve to become champagnes. Pressing and settling are deliberately gentle to respect the integrity of the grapes, and, unlike standard champenois practice, the juices are not separated into cuvées and tailles, in order to preserve the full identity of the fruit and the terroir. Ageing takes inspiration from Burgundy: it takes place largely in 400-litre barrels, but also in large casks and in stoneware or terracotta jars, followed by a rest on fine lees.

True to a minimal-intervention approach, Alexis often blocks malolactic fermentation and forgoes batonnage in order to preserve the tension and brilliance of the fruit. Bottling and racking always follow the lunar calendar, and ageing on laths generally extends from eighteen to twenty-four months, or even longer for certain cuvées. Dosage remains very low, between 0 and 6 g/L depending on the wine, to deliver each champagne in its purest truth.

The cuvées of Champagne Alexis Leconte

Totem is the signature cuvée, the true DNA of the estate. This blend of the three champenois grape varieties (approximately 70% Pinot Meunier, 20% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay) is vinified in barrels and aged for at least three years, resulting in a lightly dosed brut at 6 g/L. A reflection of the historic planting of the family vineyard, it reveals a complex nose of yellow-fleshed fruits, blackberry and spices, and a palate balanced between density and freshness, enhanced by a creamy, floral touch. A symbol of the passing of the torch between Alexis and his father, Totem is also available in a rosé version.

La Terre des Cotéas is a pure Meunier (100%) sourced from the historic Cotéas lieux-dits in Troissy, on soils of limestone over colluvium and sandy, stony clays. Aged in Burgundian barrels and terracotta jars, then matured for three years on laths with a dosage of 4 g/L, this cuvée is generous, powerful and vivid, with lovely notes of citrus and linden blossom, underpinned by a fine mineral depth.

Arietis is a sun-drenched cuvée, also 100% Meunier, but with no dosage (0 g/L), making it a brut nature. Sourced from the sandy-calcareous and clay-calcareous terroir of Vandières, it is aged in 400-litre barrels for three years on laths. Its spiced profile, marked by aromas of blackberry and spices, makes it an ideal companion for Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Aria is the estate's Blanc de Blancs, a 100% Chardonnay born from the historic Longues Raies plot in Troissy, on ochre stones and millstone. Fermented with indigenous yeasts, aged in tank and barrel, then slowly refined in the cellar, it is offered as an extra brut at 3 g/L. Structured and refined, it unfolds aromas of acacia, jasmine, candied pineapple, mandarin and peach, carried by a chalky minerality and a long, saline, vibrant finish.

Ageius is a Blanc de Noirs 100% Pinot Noir, classified as AOC Champagne Aÿ Grand Cru, sourced from the chalk and red clay terroir of La Fosse. Aged in Burgundian barrels and terracotta jars, then matured for three years on laths with a dosage of 3 g/L, it expresses the full nobility of its grand terroir: the finesse of the chalk elevates enchanting notes of wild strawberry and blueberry, in an ensemble that unites structure and elegance.

The estate completes its range with still wines under the Coteaux Champenois appellation, available in red and white, as well as a generous Ratafia Champenois made from the mistelle of its own grapes. Alongside his champagnes, Alexis Leconte also crafts, under the HERESIA brand, his own plant and citrus liqueurs — a natural extension of his quest for taste and terroir.