Pierre Gimonnet Chouilly Grand Cru Special Club 2014

Chouilly Grand Cru 2014 is an interpretation of a unique Terroir, well-known by Gimonnet because it is completely in sync with their style. The grapes from Chouilly allow us them to show a champagne with more harmony than intensity. As a member of the famous 'Club Trésors' (Special Club) Gimonnet bottle their best cuvees in the Special Club embossed bottle shape.

Weather: 2014 saw a warm and dry spring leading to many predicting a later harvest in August, July was damp and cooler so the ripening process was slowed. September was much warmer and Chardonnay shinned in 2014 with all picking done in around ten days. Harvest in Montaigu vineyard was 16-20th September. The vineyard of Montaigu is widely considered the best vineyard in Chouilly.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Chouilly - One vineyard Montaigu 1.9 hectares planted in 1951
Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Ageing: 6 years on the lees
Dosage: 4.5 g/l
Pressure: 5.5 bars
Bottles Produced: 3883
Drink: Now to 2030

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 from one vineyard.

The story of Champagne Gimonnet is, in fact, “Pierre Gimonnet et Fils... et PetitsFils”, as the grandsons of the founder, brothers Olivier and Didier Gimonnet are the custodians of this family House in the Côte des Blancs. 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, whom his sons credit with a hard-working modesty but an obsession with quality of winemaking and a passion for the vines he spent his life walking and working between.

Olivier and Didier worked with their father for a decade until his retirement in 1996 (he died in 2008), and have continued, and improved on, his work for over 20 years.

Michel’s understanding of terroir led him to acquire parcels beyond Cuis and into neighbouring Cramant and Chouilly. 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. The one geographical limit they have set is the bounds of the Côte des Blancs because it is determined to explore the variety of expressions of Chardonnay and achieve excellence in its different characteristics.

Didier and Olivier believe, as did their father, that Chardonnay vines improve with age, among the vines owned by Gimonnet are some in Cramant more than a century old, while over half are 40 years old or more. Massale selection is used to ensure the continuation of good genes when grafting and planting new parcels. 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.