Pierre Gimonnet Blanc de Blancs Cramant Grand Cru Special Club 2014

The Gimonnet family can be traced back to 1750 growing vines around the village of Cuis, south of Epernay, but it was between the wars that Pierre Gimonnet set up the winery that allowed him to become a grower-producer, specialising in Blanc de Blancs. Pierre Gimonnet was succeeded by his son Michel. Michel’s understanding of terroir led him to acquire parcels beyond Cuis and into neighbouring Cramant and Chouilly. Olivier and Didier worked with their father Michel for a decade until his retirement in 1996 (he died in 2008), and have continued, and improved on, his work for over 20 years. His sons have continued this principle, expanding into Oger in 2005 and as far south as Vertus in 2008. The House now has 40 separate parcels across 28 hectares – 16ha of Premier Cru and 12ha of Grand Cru – all in the Côte des Blancs. At harvest time, grapes are handpicked, traditionally pressed and then vinified in small batches, parcel by parcel, in 25 to 125 hectalitre tanks to create the Gimonnet champagne. Today they produce 250,000 bottles.

Special Club was created in 1971 by 12 grower-producers, now called the Club Trésors de Champagne. Their mission “to promote Champagne produced from 100% estate-owned grapes that are supremely terroir-expressive.” Members can offer a special cuvée to represent the best of their estate which has to be approved by a panel of winemakers to confirm the high standards of the club and it can only be from a top vintage.

Cramant Grand Cru 2014 is an interpretation of a unique Terroir, considered by the Gimonnet family as the best TERROIR of their Domaine, because all the vines are located in the heart of Terroir and are really old; 80% are 50+years and two of the vineyards “Fond du Bateau” and “Buissons” were planted in 1911 and 1913. As a member of the famous 'Club Trésors' (Special Club) Gimonnet bottle their best cuvees in the Special Club embossed bottle shape.

"Our favourite terroir. Silky elegance and depth" - Didier Gimonnet

Weather: 2014 was characterised by mild temperatures and frequent rainfall and a few weeks of high temperatures, a very solid vintage with good ripeness and acidity. Flowering began in June and summer was a combination of dry, wet and cold spells. Some regions saw some disease and Meunier in the Marne Valley didn’t have a great year and some of the Pinot Noir with its thinner skin made it more difficult for the red grapes. Harvest in the Cramant vineyards took place 13th to 15th September. A year where it was necessary to select the red grapes carefully to maintain high quality. In general Chardonnay is the star of the vintage.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Cramant Grand Cru
Specific Vineyards in Cramant: 34.5% Gros Mont, 31% le Bateau, 6% Buissons, 10.2% Bauves, 8.4% Bionnes, 9.1% Champ de Prevot
Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Ageing: 5 years on the lees
Disgorged: July 2020
Dosage: 4 g/l
Drink: Now to 2030
Production: 3883 bottles

Tasting Note: Very fresh with bundles of lemon and lime and beautiful chalky character. The low dosage makes it extra brut but that doesn’t come across as it has so much fruit and ripeness mixed with lees character that builds up to some light custard layering. This feels young and vibrant with an exciting future. This is a good example showing how good one grape variety can be in a region.