Wine & Spirits - Fall 2022 - 58

Top 100 Wineries
FRANCE | CHAMPAGNE
Pierre Gimonnet & Fils
Didier and Olivier Gimonnet believe their old chardonnay vines in the
Côte des Blancs are worth their weight in chalk.
OlIVIER GIMONNET
the Gimonnet family has Been tendinG
vines in Cuis since the 18th century, and
Pierre Gimonnet, Didier and Olivier's grandfather,
bottled the first estate Champagnes
in 1935. Today, the brothers work with estate
parcels that stretch along the length of the
Côte des Blancs, from Chouilly to Vertus;
they also farm two acres of pinot noir straddling
Aÿ and Marueil-sur Aÿ. Like the family's
metaphorical roots, the vine's roots also
run deep-70 percent of the vines are at
least 30 years of age and 85 percent of the
grand cru vineyards are over 45. The Gimonnets
also sustain two parcels of centenarian
vines in Cramant, in the lieux-dits Le Fond
du Bateau (1911) and Buisson (1913). They
propagate new stock from mass selections
to preserve the diversity and genetic inheritance
of the vines, and they avoid the use
of fertilizers to encourage the vines to go
deeper into the chalky soils. The family distinguishes
their blends with the inclusion of
bottle-aged reserve wines. -C.W.; tasting
notes by J.G.
FRANCE | CHAMPAGNE
Petit & Bajan
Precisely-textured, rich and earthy Champagnes from a family estate in
the Côte des Blancs and Verzenay.
RICHaRD PETIT aND
VERONIQUE BaJaN
Champagne 1er Cru Cuis Brut Blanc de
Blancs ($56, 93 points) From north-facing
vineyards in Cuis, this is 2017 chardonnay,
enhanced with 27 percent of reserve wines from
the 2010 to 2015 vintages. The pale-white fruit
holds mineral freshness in its depths of whitecherry
and white-peach flavors. The acidity provides
tension and limestone abrasion, while
feeling completely integrated into the fruit. It's
a gripping cold-climate chardonnay for meaty
game fish.
FOUNDED:
1920s
WINEMAKERS/
VITICULTURISTS:
Didier & Olivier
Gimonnet
OWNER:
Family Pierre
Gimonnet
ACRES OWNED:
74.2
ANNUAL PRODUCTION:
22,000 cases
ESTATE GROWN:
100%
IMPORTER:
Skurnik Wines, NY
58
Champagne 1er Cru Gastronome Brut Blanc
de Blancs ($67, 93 points) A delicate floral and
mineral essence of Côte des Blancs chardonnay,
this wine broadens to lush and creamy richness
while remaining taut. Green notes of pale strawberries
show its youth, while smoky orange and
lemon citrus notes highlight the generous texture.
Serve it with an equally rich fish dish, like
arctic char over chanterelles and cream.
Champagne 1er Cru Brut Rosé de Blancs
($68, 91 points) This chardonnay turns to pale
pink with the addition of five percent red wine
(pinot noir from Cumières). It takes on the delicate
scent of rose hips and hibiscus, over tangerine
notes that finish firm and clean.
WINE & SPIR IT S
F all 202 2
FOUNDED:
2008
OWNERS/WINEMAKERS/
VITICULTURISTS:
Richard Petit &
Véronique Bajan
ACRES OWNED:
7.5
ANNUAL PRODUCTION:
1,250 cases
ESTATE GROWN:
100%
IMPORTER:
North Berkeley
Imports, Berkeley, CA
RichaRd Petit and VéRonique Bajan maRried
in 1997, a union which would eventually
join their family's grand cru vineyard holdings.
Petit and Bajan manage just over two
acres of chardonnay in Avize, Cramant and
Ogier, in addition to five acres of pinot noir
in Verzenay, favoring a harvest on the later
side-they claim to be among the last two
growers to finish harvest in Avize, along with
Selosse, their neighbor. Initially borrowing
space in Petit's family's cellars (Domaine
Petit-Lebrun), in 2020 they completed
their own cellar just down the road in Avize
that allows them to explore their terroir in
greater detail, with small tanks allowing for
parcel-by-parcel fermentations, space for
experimentation with barrel ferments, and
a temperature-controlled aging room. For
fermentations, they prefer the consistency
of their own selected yeasts. The couple
hopes to grow their production in the coming
years; among their new projects, they are
working on a Coteaux Champenois rouge.
-C.W.; tasting notes by J.G.
Champagne Grand Cru Brut Obsidienne
($85, 94 points) The platinum-gold color barely
hints at the fact that the wine is 100 percent
pinot noir, grown in the chalk and clay soils of
Verzenay. The floral notes of roses might, along
with the youthful power. The fruit shows off a
range of earthiness, bringing to mind the skin
of a fresh-dug potato, and the fuzz of an underripe
peach. It's as if the Champagne limestone
had come to life in a wine that's formidable and
refreshing.
Champagne Grand Cru Brut Ambrosie ($65,
93 points) A 70-30 blend of chardonnay and
pinot noir, this wine shares the tiny, persistent
line of bubbles apparent in all the Petit & Bajan
Champagnes we tasted. Here, those bubbles
drive pale scents of apple flesh and hints of rosy
red fruit. Touched by oxidative richness, the
main takeaway is a pure limestone clarity in the
wine's mineral tension.
Champagne Grand Cru Brut Rosé Nymphea
($68, 93 points) Pinot noir from Verzenay vinified
as red wine makes up ten percent of this
blend; the balance is Côte des Blancs chardonnay.
The contrast between those two elements
creates a tension in the wine, expressed as
mineral acidity at the meeting point of chardonnay
in chalk (golden pear, litchi, tart lemon) and
pinot noir in clay (plump strawberry, baked red
apple). The earthiness of the fruit would be delicious
with potato pancakes and smoked salmon.
Wine & Spirits - Fall 2022

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