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 vintage created from Oger Grand Cru is the only Pierre Gimonnet Champagne from the South of Cote des Blancs. It is the first Pierre Gimonnet from 100% Grand Cru vineyards, with the other blends in the range having a small percentage of Premier Cru Cuis grapes. Harvested on 11th September 2015.

Weather: A wet winter and mild spring gave way to an exceptionally dry summer from mid-May onwards. Hot weather prevailed until mid-August, when the skies opened again. Rains gave way to fine, cool, yet sunny weather for the first two weeks of harvest, which commenced on August 29th. The 2015 vintage has a lot of common denominators with the 2003 vintage but the 2015s are showing a better balance of weight and freshness with their average potential alcohol level of 10.5% and total acidity of 6.9 g/l. The quality and ageing capacity of the vintage has been questioned because of the low acidity, but to me the structure of the wine is not the problem. An average vintage and we need to see more releases before we will know for sure how good the big names will be in 2015.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: Cote des Blancs - 100% Oger Grand Cru - 56% Terres de Noel, Brulis, 32% Champs Nerons & 12% Fondy
Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Disgorged: July 2020
Ageing: 4.5 years on the lees
Dosage: 5 g/l
Pressure: 5.5 bars
Drink: Now to 2030
Annual Production: 5200 bottles

Tasting Note: Beautifully pure, floral nose. On the palate a racy, energetic feel with nuances of stone fruit, acacia, brioche and underlying minerality. Lovely purity, which has a long, crisp, slightly nutty finish. Exemplary Blanc de Blancs and great apéritif style. White flowers and crisp apple join chorus making this supremely refreshing as well as exceedingly moreish.

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. Today they produce 250,000 bottles.