Cuvée Abyss is one of Champagne's most original cuvées. Immersed for 1 year in the seabed to the east of the Île d'Ouessant, Cuvée Abyss is an adventure.
Leclerc Briant came up with the idea of immersing a cuvée specially developed for this purpose, following the discovery in the Baltic Sea of a cargo of champagne that had spent more than 170 years underwater.
In association with Amphoris, a company specializing in underwater exploitation, the house and its cellar master Hervé Jestin have created a made-to-measure cuvée.
Hervé Jestin, the house's cellar master, has chosen terroirs renowned for their limestone subsoil to forge a link with the marine subsoil of the Bay of Stiff, at the eastern tip of the Isle of Ushant.
He has selected Chardonnays from the Bisseuil terroir, Pinot Noirs from Avenay-Val-d'Or and Pinot Meuniers from Vrigny. Each grape variety is equally represented.
Cuvée Abyss 2017 was submerged in September 2021, to be brought to the surface in July 2022. It is a Brut Nature, a cuvée in its purest expression.
Cuvée Abyss 2017 Leclerc Briant has a delicate, luminous color.
The nose is harmonious, with warm notes of ripe fruit and spicy nuances. The second nose evokes warm apple, quince and iodine.
On the palate, this is a cuvée with a frank attack, then a pulpy mid-palate with lovely citrus notes. Minerality stands out on the mid-palate. The finish is deliciously iodized.
Abyss 2017 goes wonderfully well with iodized dishes such as oysters, raw salmon or sesame tuna tataki.
