Firm and well-knit, this lacy version offers a subtle mix of Dijon pear, smoke, fleur de sel, fresh ginger and slivered almond notes. The wine is soft and rounded although unmistakably from Chardonnay in the chalky Côte des Blancs. Crisp apples have a light creaminess as well as lively acidity.
Didier Gimonnet directs this superb estate, located in the Premier Cru of Cuis. With 29.4 hectares of holdings in Grand and Premier Cru villages, predominantly in the Côte des Blancs, Didier’s family has been growing grapes in Champagne since 1750. It was Pierre Gimonnet, Didier’s grandfather, who started bottling estate Champagnes in 1935. In addition to the 13.5 hectares in Cuis, Gimonnet owns 11 hectares of Chardonnay in the Grand Cru villages of Cramant and Chouilly, plus another hectare in Oger and two in Vertus Premier Cru. Gimonnet also owns half a hectare of Pinot Noir, split between the Grand Cru of Aÿ and Premier Cru of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. The high percentage of old vines at this estate set it apart in a region suffering from a plethora of very young vineyards. Seventy percent of Gimonnet’s holdings are over 30 years old, of which some forty percent are over 40 years old, with 100+ year old vines in the lieux-dits of Le Fond du Bateau, planted in 1911, and Buisson planted in 1913, both in the Grand Cru village of Cramant.
100% Chardonnay
Wine Spectator Review:
An elegant, finessed Champagne, with the creamy mousse carrying a finely meshed yet concentrated range of blackberry puree and poached apricot flavors, plus blood orange peel, salted pistachio and aromatic accents of verbena, chalk and oyster shell. Shows mouthwatering acidity that carries the complex profile on the long finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Drink now through 2038. 500 cases imported.