Maybe no wine region is changing faster and in more positive ways than Champagne. Every year we learn about a half dozen new producers. People are trying new techniques and changing styles. Growers who used to sell off their grapes are now trying to make their own Champagnes. It’s exciting!

It’s important to remember, though, that Champagne has a long history of making some of the world’s greatest wines, and they have developed an amazing range of traditions that are worth preserving. And it is Patrick Le Brun’s mission to preserve them.

Le Brun’s winery, Le Brun Servenay, is located in some of the most precious Chardonnay terroirs in Champagne, in the chalk-rich village of Avize. This is the same village where Jacques Selosses revolutionized Champagne with techniques to produce a richer, more open-knit Champagne: barrel aging, later harvesting, malolactic fermentation, the use of soleras, etc.

Great wines, for sure, but Le Brun decided to go in another direction. He wants to produce wines of cut and chisel, as if they were etched directly out of his chalky soils. He wants freshness and verve. He wants a wine that showcases the crispy intensity of traditional Champagne.

This is not to say that Le Brun hasn’t adopted the huge improvements in quality that Selosse’s revolution brought with it. Farming is hands-on and conscientious, dosage is very low, and there is extensive aging on the lees.

His “Odalie” is a terrific, and affordable, example of Le Brun’s lifework. It is a blend of all three major Champagne grapes, but of course there is an emphasis on the locally grown Chardonnay. All steel, no malo, and low dosage combine to provide a wonderfully intense, chalk-rich expression of traditional Champagne, and at a price that has become almost unheard of among the quality Growers.

Le Brun Servenay Champagne Extra Brut Odalie NV - $45.99