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.

The Millesime de Collection 2008 is the vintage blend from Pierre Gimmonet, a Blanc de Blancs from three Côte des Blancs villages, Cramant, Chouilly and Cuis. Much of the fruit is from very old vines, most of the Cramant vineyards were planted in 1911 and 1913 and Chouilly's renowned vineyard of Montaigu was planted in 1951. This special blend is only available in magnums with just 3596 made.

Weather: 2008 began unremarkably with a mild winter, plenty of rain and patches of frost. The early summer spells were relatively cold which delayed flowering. However, prolonged August sunshine saw long, hot days combine with cooler nights to produce grapes of perfect acidity and ripeness. A harvest that is only just emerging on the market but is already being compared to 2002, this is sure to be one of the vintages of the decade.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 57% Cramant Grand Cru, 29% Chouilly Grand Cru & 14% Cuis 1er Cru
Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Ageing: 11 years on the lees
Dosage: 4.5 g/l
Disgorgement: 27th January 2020
Pressure: 5.5 bars
Production: 3,596 magnums
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 in a region.