25 years ago, on Bastille Day 1999, Adele and Daniel Le Brun released Cuvée No.1, the first Marlborough Méthode Traditionelle from their company No.1 Family Estate. To celebrate the new venture and family business Adele and Daniel invited each of their children to take centre stage for the release events. 20-year-old Virginie lead the release at the Regent in Auckland.
“As unpredictable as the Auckland weather can be, we were grounded by a blanket of fog preventing us from attending the next day’s release in Wellington. Our son Remy, 10 years old at the time, had to take over the event at Te Papa. In our absence he was there supported by his Aunty Lynne, our dear friends Bruce and Beverley Cook and his toy dinosaur!” said Adele.
Adele and Daniel have been pioneering Méthode Traditionelle in Marlborough since 1980. No.1 Family Estate is their second venture. As they could no longer use their name as a brand, they chose No.1 Family Estate in recognition of the many ‘firsts’ in New Zealand wine they had achieved over the years.
“Today, No.1 Family Estate is family owned and we consider our valued and longstanding team as our family” Adele said.
Daughter and No.1 Family Estate Sales Director, Virginie Le Brun commented “25 years after it was launched, Cuvée No.1 is still the most widely recognised méthode in our range and remains our signature Marlborough Méthode Traditionelle NV. I am immensely proud of Mum and Papa’s achievements and our heritage in Champagne.”
Daniel hails from 12 generations of Champagne vignerons. The first record of his family planting grapes dates back to 1684. The date 1794 is carved into the family champagne press and his family are still producing Champagne to this day.
Daniel said “I was set to take over the family vineyards, but instead went searching for a place to make méthode that would rival Champagne. I found it here in Marlborough. Back in the late 70’s it was dry and dusty, but I could see the potential. Marlborough had the perfect combination of terroir and sunshine hours that I was looking for.”
Today, Daniel and his team at No.1, including winemaker Lee Dobson, craft their wines in Marlborough, in the traditional method of Daniel’s homeland, Champagne.
