Pierre Gimonnet & Fils 'Oenophile Non Dosé' Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, France 2018

Pierre Gimonnet & Fils 'Oenophile' Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature, Champagne, France 2018

• Farming: Organic
• Winemaker: Didier Gimonnet
• Varieties: 100% Chardonnay   
• Assemblage: Reserves from 2011-2018. 6g/L dosage. 
• Terroir:  From 45% Cramant Grand Cru (Buissons, Bateau, Gros Mont), 30% Chouilly Grand Cru (Mont Aigu, Ronds Buissons), 3% Oger Grand Cru (Terres de Noël, Champs Nérons), 22% Cuis 1er Cru (Croix-Blanche)
• Vinification: Undergoes Malolactic fermentation. Fermented and aged in stainless steel
• Elevage: Stainless steel. Aged 42+ months on the lees
• Dosage: 0g/L

Didier Gimonnet is the second generation of growers to direct this superb estate, with 28 hectares of holdings in grand and premier cru villages, predominantly in the Côte de Blancs. The winery is in the premier cru village of Cuis where Didier’s family has been growing grapes since 1750. Pierre Gimonnet, Dider’s Grandfather, started bottling estate champagnes in 1935. In addition to the 13.5 hectares in Cuis, Gimonnet owns 11 hectares of chardonnay vines in the grand cru villages of Cramant and Chouilly, plus another hectare in Oger and two in Vertus. Gimonnet also owns half a hectare of pinot noir, split between the grand cru of Aÿ and 1er cru of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ.

The high percentage of old vines at this estate sets it apart in a  region suffering from a plethora of very young vineyards. Seventy percent of Gimonnet’s holdings are over 30 years old, of which some forty percent are over 40 years old, with 100+-year-old vines in the lieux-dits of Le Fond du Bateau, planted in 1911, and Buisson planted in  1913, both in the Grand Cru village of Cramant.