Blending Flashcards
1
Q
Champagne
A
- Gimmonet ages their reserve wine in bottle. Each year they bottle 150,000 bottles of NV wine. To do so they have to open up 50,000 bottles of reserve wine. “If I wanted to age my reserve wines in tank, I would have to expand my winery and invest in tanks.”
- Gimmonet hates the solera system for Champagne, “It has no place here, it’s not even a French word!”
- 2018 will be the first Special Club Gimmonnet specifically from Cuis 1er Cru. Didier normally blends it with other vintages because it is so acidic. He says, “In Champagne, Chardonnay is more acidic than the other varieties; Chardonnay from Cote des Blancs is more acidic than Chardonnay from other regions; and Chardonnay from Cuis is more acidic than Chardonnay from other villages in the Cote des Blancs.” Cuis has north-facing slopes and clay-dominant soil.
- His Special Club typically a blend of Cramant, Chouilly, Cuis
- Didier Gimmonnet is fed up with new generation that believes Champagne = Burgundy and single vineyards should be emphasized. He believes that Champagne’s strength lies in its blends. Even so, as of 2012 started bottling single village 1er and Grand Crus…
- In 2019, Pierre Peters will be 100 years old. Celebrating by releasing HERITAGE cuvee. Is a blend of best vintages going back to 1921 with 1/3rd vin clair from 2010, refermented in new bottles (only 1,000 bottles). Selling exclusively through Skurnik, but direct to consumer, not distribution angles.
- Pierre Peters Cuvee Reserve is a continuous reserve since 1997, with wines that go back to 1988.
- Pierre Peters’ Chetillon is a blend of 3 blocks. Always holds back 50% of the Chetillons for the NV.
- Pierre Peters also believes that blending is the privilege and strength of Champagne. Hates that most houses only vintage blend for their entry level wines. To counteract this, he makes several high-end vintage-blends such as Reserve Oublie (all reserve wine, no fresh vintage), and the special edition Heritage.
