Henri Giraud Argonne Aÿ Grand Cru 2013

Top Grand Cru Champagne of 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay. In original unopened packaging. Stored dark and cool since purchase.

Technical information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand Cru | Aÿ-Champagne
Grape Varieties: 90% Pinot Noir | 10% Chardonnay
Fermentation: Vinified and raised in new barrels from the Argonne Forest.
Aging: 6 years on the lees
Disgorged: 15th December 2020
Dosage: 6 g/l
Production: 5000 Bottles
Alcohol: 12.5%
Drink: Now to 2040

Tasting Note: Unwinding in the glass with aromas of tarte tatin, apricot, honeycomb, nutmeg, brioche and spices. Full-bodied, vinous and intensely concentrated, it's layered and elegantly structured, with vivid acidity and a dry, racy finish

From Rare Wine:
"Henri Giraud, the greatest Champagne you've never heard of"'
The above is a statement from Robert Parker himself, and when you see the name Henri Gireaud, chances are you'll agree with him. It is not often that new shooting stars arise in Champagne. But Henri Giraud is one of the exceptions.

This is about a masterful micro-production of a few thousand bottles that has made its way from a small exclusive French clientele to the big stage. This has caused large price increases on older vintages and at the same time made it more or less unrecoverable.

Henri Giraud – here the old traditions are rewarded
Henri Giraud is something as rare as an independent and family-run champagne house. Claude Giraud is the 12th generation in the nearly 400-year-old enterprise, and despite the long history that makes Henri Giraud one of the oldest houses in Champagne, it is only in recent years that the Giraud shooting star has ignited .

Henri Giraud owns approx. 12 ha of land on fine fields in Aÿ, but together with the fixed agreements for the purchase of grapes, Giraud champagne is produced from a total of 25 ha.

But it is not only Giraud's fantastic parcels, many of which have grand cru status, that are significant and character-creating about Henri Giraud's champagnes. The masterpieces already start in the nearby Argonne forest, where the ancient oak trees supply timber for the house's special oak casks, which are used in the house's production. Oak casks in champagne production were otherwise almost phased out with the introduction of steel tanks in the 1960s, but a few houses have made precisely the oak casks their hallmark and mark of nobility – including Henri Giraud, Krug and Selosse.

“This is the way I think Krug SHOULD taste”

– Robert Parker on Henri Giraud Argonne

The special oak casks, locally produced with origins in the nearby forest, are, according to Claude Giraud, the symbiotic puzzle piece that completes the house's unique champagnes.

Henri Giraud is behind a range of different cuvées, but at the top of the hierarchy we find a champagne that bears the same name in honor of the Argonne forest; Argonne.

These bottles are masterpieces, and treated as such: from the avant-garde closure of the bottle to the fact that they are delivered individually in high-quality wooden boxes.