NV J.M. Labruyere Prologue Grand Cru Brut Champagne

We got our first shot at J.M. Labruyère’s exquisite Prologue Grand Cru Brut Champagne back in fall of 2019. BOOM—it was gone. Our second chance came in mid-2020, then another in late ‘21. Same results.

For a Champagne not bearing a household name like Billecart-Salmon, it’s been a stunningly fast series of sell-outs—each one faster than the last. But that’s no surprise, considering that Labruyère’s gorgeous bottle hails from a Grand Cru vineyard that was a longtime source for Dom Pérignon—and costs about a quarter of the price of that iconic wine.

That impeccable quality prompted James Halliday—the Robert Parker of Australia—to award Prologue an eye-popping 95-point score last summer and add it to his list of the Top 100 wines of the previous year. 

Champagne Labruyère is the latest project from Edouard Labruyère, whose family’s roots in Beaujolais go back to 1850, in Moulin-à-Vent. But Edouard’s holy grail was Champagne, and he spent years combing the region before he finally found Domaine Christian Busin’s immaculate 16 acres in the Grand Cru of Verzenay. 

When he learned the vineyard regularly sold most of its fruit to Dom Pérignon, he knew his search was over. In 2012, he made the site his own. He hoped to shine a light on Verzenay—an oft-overlooked Grand Cru, in his opinion—for no other reason than that its fruit has been folded into the cuvées of the big houses for far too long.

He now owns and controls 100% of these vineyards, so Prologue heralds a new chapter for the region—and remains a go-to Grand Cru Champagne for Wine Access members. A blockbuster bubbly to share with friends and family, this one is a must-have.  

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity

• ABV 12.50%
• Enjoy right away
• Now – 2027
• 70% Pinot Noir30% Chardonnay
• Serving temperature – 48°
• Cork