Dazzling Champagne

I had the opportunity to meet with two respected growers from Champagne at the WineWise and Terry Theise tasting today in San Francisco. Both are producers as well, crafting dynamite sparklers, each with their own house style. If forced to make a choice, I would take the Pierre Gimonnet wines to my desert island, as I am an acid hound. But please, don’t make me choose as there are times when I like a more fruit-driven, ripe tasting bubbly like those from Rene Geoffroy.

From Cuis in the Cote des Blancs, Didier Gimonnet crafts steely sparkling with nerve and driving acidity.

Pierre Gimonnet, Champagne, Oenophile, Blanc de Blancs, Extra Brut 2000 This wine bursts with the smell of freshly baked bisquits while the mouth tastes of green apples – very long. There is no dosage.

Pierre Gimonnet, Champagne, Special Club, Blanc de Blancs, Brut 2000 Again the biscuits pop out in the nose but in the mouth, there is more complexity and the feel is more rounded, with the edges of the acidity shaved off by the addition of the dosage.

Pierre Gimonnet, Champagne, Vintage Collection, Blanc de Blancs, Vielles Vignes, Chardonnay, Brut 2000 The almost Centurion vines which provided the fruit for this wine were planted in 1911 and 1913 in Cramant. This wine follows in the profile of the Special Club with more minerality. Note that he adds the grape name to the label, which is helpful in the export markets where many won’t know that a Blanc de Blanc from Champagne is Chardonnay. Gimonnet

From just across the Marne River in Cumieres, Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy was pouring his wines from Champagne Rene Geoffroy. Here the house style leans more toward overt fruitiness and a softer, less austere profile. 

Rene Geoffroy, Champagne, Cuvee Volupte, Brut nv The ripeness of the apple flavors shine brightly in this wine, with great length. Though labelled sans vintage, the fruit for this wine is all from the 2002 vintage, 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir.

Rene Geoffroy, Champagne, Millesime Brut 2000 The smells are of flowers and citrus fruit while the palate showcased the fruit again, with elegance and again, great length. The dosage for this wine is a mere 2 g/l and the bottles were only recently disgorged in May of this year, making this a very fresh RD wine. Geoffroy

About RJ

Ray Johnson is the Executive Director of the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University. He writes about food and wine, his travels and the business of wine. He makes his home in Sonoma County, California.
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