A few names come to mind when thinking of the premier producers of the Côt de Blancs: Pierre Peters, Salon, and, of course, Pierre Gimonnet. The Gimonnet family has been making wine in the village of Cuis since 1750, and Pierre himself took over in 1935. The estate is now run by his grandsons Didier and Olivier, and the wines have never been better. Cuis is the home base, but the family has 29.4 hectares of prime parcels across the marquee terroirs and Grand Crus of the Côte de Blancs, including Chouilly, Cramant, and Oger. The secret factor that makes these wines so incredible is the fact that most of the family's vine are at least 35 years old, and more than 70% of vineyard holdings are over 40 years old and even some 100 plus year old vines!
The family focuses almost entirely on Chardonnay, and the house style is crisp and clean, allowing you to fully experience the white chalk soils the Grand Crus of the Côte de Blancs is so famous for. The wines strike the perfect balance of richness, striking minerality, and sharp acidity, and most cuvées are vinified and aged in tank before going through full malolactic, long lees aging, and topped off with a very minimal dosage. The wines are electric and powerful and yet also somehow delicate and filigreed like a beautiful Roman statue hand chiseled out of pure chalk.
100% Chardonnay aged on the lees for 9 years!
This was a library release from the estate and is a pristine example of mature Champagne.
93 Points from Antonio Galloni of Vinous: "Tasted from magnum, the 2006 Brut Fleuron (Magnum) has quite a bit more freshness and citrus-inflected cut than the same wine from bottle. Here the flavors are bright and finely cut, with plenty of floral overtones and a generally reticent, tightly-wound personality. There is a lot to like, but the magnums are going to need at least a few more years to show at their best. Vineyard sources are 36% Chouilly, 39% Cramant, 17% Cuis and 8% Oger. Dosage is 4.5 grams/liter. Disgorged: May 2015."
