Champagne Pierre Gimonnet, a renowned house in the Champagne region of France, inherits over 200 years of grape-growing experience. The Gimonnet family is an essential house in the Champagne region, renowned for their 100% Chardonnay Champagnes, sourced from the region's most prestigious Blancs. Their RM Blanc de Blancs (made from 100% white grape varieties, primarily Chardonnay) is a prime example.
RM (Recoltant Manipulant) is a term for quality-focused Champagne houses that produce and sell their own wines. Most of what we hear of as "smallholder Champagne" is RM Champagne, and the Pierre Gimonnet family is a leader among RM Champagnes!
The Gimonnet family, founded in 1750, has been deeply engaged in the Cuis village of the Côte des Blancs for centuries. Early on, they sold their grapes to renowned Champagne merchants. It wasn't until 1955, when the father of the current owner, Didier, transformed the estate into a Recoltant Manipulant (RM) capable of independent bottling, focusing on researching and producing wines based on the unique characteristics of each plot. With increasing experience, they deepened their understanding of the vineyards, improving the quality of their grapes and their wines, ultimately establishing a strong reputation and standing in the region. By the time of their two descendants, Didier and Olivier, the quality and international reputation of their wines had reached unprecedented heights.
Region
Although one of the largest RM growers in the Côte des Blancs, with 28 hectares of vineyards (and 170 hectares of wheat and barley), the Gimonnet family has always prioritized quality over quantity, using only 100% Chardonnay from premium plots in the Côte des Blancs for their Champagnes. They are true experts in blanc de blancs.
The winery shares the Burgundian practice of dividing its vineyards into distinct Lieux-Dits. Of the 28 hectares of vineyards, 14 hectares are Premier Crus in Cuis, with an additional 12 hectares of Grand Crus in Cramant and Chouilly. Most of the wines are selected from these Grand Crus and Premier Crus, reflecting their potential.
Years of development have resulted in over half of the Gimonnet family's vineyards being composed of vines over 30 years old. Furthermore, some vines at Le Fond du Bateau (planted in 1911) and Buisson (planted in 1913) in Cramant are over a century old.
Due to the terroir, Champagne is extremely particular about vintages, leading to the distinction between vintage and non-vintage Champagnes. Didier Gimonnet firmly believes in quality above all else and prefers to blend Grand Crus and Premier Crus to enhance overall quality while maintaining a relatively reasonable price. If the quality of the grapes harvested that year doesn't meet the house's expectations, they will completely abandon the production of vintage champagne. This requires tremendous courage and exquisite craftsmanship.
Perhaps it is precisely this uncompromising pursuit of perfection that has enabled Pierre Gimonnet to stand out among "smallholder champagnes" and has become a cultural legacy the house is proud of. 95% of their grapes are Chardonnay. Some say Pierre Gimonnet represents the northern Côte des Blancs, just as Pierre Peters represents the southern.
Winemaking
Didier's winemaking philosophy is easy to understand: different plots are treated separately, and malolactic fermentations are carried out in stainless steel tanks of different sizes. This allows for a clear understanding of the styles associated with different terroirs. Later, to create any style, simply blend the juice from a specific cuvée based on experience. This opens up endless possibilities without completely erasing the characteristics of the terroir. To me, it's like a painter applying different pigments to a canvas.
Another unique feature is that Didier prefers to store his base wine in large bottles rather than stainless steel tanks. Each year, he uses approximately 60% to 70% of the base wine from recent vintages in his NV blend. He believes this method maximizes the wine's freshness and flavor, as well as its aging potential. Winemaking is an art, and every winemaker is an artist with unrestrained imagination.
Primarily made from old vines from the Chouilly Grand Cru, this wine blends the finesse of Cramant, the minerality of Oger, and the acidity of Cuis. It has been hailed by Wine Spectator as "one of the greatest Fleurons ever made."
