Special Club Brut 'Grand Terroirs de Chardonnay' 2012

PIERRE GIMONNET & FILS

Special Club Brut 'Grand Terroirs de Chardonnay'
2012

Country
France
Regulated designation
Appellation origine controlée (AOC)
Region
Champagne
Varietal(s)
Chardonnay 100 %
Colour
White
Sugar
Brut
Producer's website

About this winery

The Gimonnet family has been growing vines in Champagne since 1750. In 1935 Pierre Gimonnet, grandfather of current owners Didier and Olivier, began producing champagne in the village of Cuis. Didier and Olivier own 30 hectares in total; 16 hectares are Premier Cru from the village of Cuis. A high percentage of their vineyards are Grand Cru - 12 hectares in total, spread across the villages of Cramant, Chouilly, Oger and Aÿ. The Grand Cu vineyards have an average age of 40 years. Didier takes...

See the PIERRE GIMONNET & FILS detail page for more information on this brand

Product notes

Made from 100% Chardonnay. 60% Cramant Grand Cru (a tenth of the vines are more than 40 years old: "Buissons", "Fond du Bateau", "Gros Monts", "Buissons", "Bauves", "Bionnes", "Champ du Prevot"..). Around 20% of the grapes come from vines that were planted in 1911 and 1913. 30% Chouilly Grand Cru (exclusively from" Montaigu" planted in 1951), 10% Cuis 1er Cru (from « Basses vignes »).

Production notes

The grapes were harvested manually and pressing was completed less than 6 hours after picking. Temperature controlled alcoholic fermentation in stainless tanks with malolactic fermentation. Elevated 8 months on lees with cold stabilization (-4°). Light filtration on clay before bottling bottling in April 2013. Aged in bottle for more than 5 years and disgorging 3 months before shipping.

Tasting notes

This cuvee offers a very beautiful balance between the different origins of Gimmonet Chardonnay. Cramant mostly of course (so structured and mineral), Chouilly in a large part (Montaigu for elegance), and a piece of Cuis (for freshness and to honour Pierre Gimonnet).

Press reviews

James Suckling

- 96 points -

December 2021 (Vintage 2015)

Very complex nose of citrus blossoms, floral honey and brioche with a hint of fresh mushroom. Really concentrated, but so incredibly focused and precise, this is a masterpiece of chardonnay elegance! Very long and extremely mineral finish that lights up the sky like fireworks. A cuvée of wines from the Grand Cru villages of Cramant (60%) and Chouilly (26%) with wine from the 1er Cru village of Cuis (14%), the oldest vines dating back to 1911 and 1913.

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James Halliday (Australian Wine Companion)

- 96 points -

November 2018

Disgorged in July ’17 after seven years on lees. The name is – well – odd, but the vines, the grapes and the wine are anything but. Even if you know nothing of this great Champagne House, you would recognise the serious complexity and intensity, the pulsating expression of chardonnay and the long, lingering aftertaste.

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Vinous

- 93 points -

November 2018 (Vintage 2012)

Interestingly, the 2012 Special Club is quite a bit riper and bigger than any of the three single-village Special Clubs. Light tropical overtones meld into a core of candied orange peel, apricot, chamomile and wild flowers. In this tasting, the 2012 comes across as adolescent and not fully put together. Hopefully that will come in time.

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Wine Spectator

- 92 points -

December 2018 (Vintage 2012)

Fresh and refined, with a delicate range of Honeycrisp apple, spring blossom, chalk and citrus flavors, this elegant Champagne is more about precision and fine texture than power and bold flavour...

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