"The finest Champagne house virtually no one has ever heard of,"

That's a pretty big statement especially considering how already prized Champagnes are.

But with 323 crus of Champagne and only 17 of them being Grand Crus, that seems like a fair statement to make on Henri Giraud.

Henri Giraud is said to be the oldest family-owned actively producing Champagne house today - also one of the smallest - tracing its roots all the way back to 1625. The estate, run today by 12th generation Claude Giraud, finds itself on some incredibly high quality Grand Cru vineyards in Aÿ. How high quality you ask? The Aÿ Grand Cru is so beloved that even Henri IV, the King of France, had called himself Sieur d'Aÿ or Lord of Aÿ, and have always sought to acquire vines there. The terroir of Aÿ consists of calcareous soils that are high in limestone and chalk with a deep minerality, which is responsible for imbuing its grapes with incredibly floral bouquets.

And yet, the name Henri Giraud is only just now making waves. And that's because it wasn't until Claude Giraud that the estate began producing champagnes under its own name in the 1990's. Up till that point, the family-owned estate had operated primarily as a grower, selling its grapes and champagne to other champagne houses. The Giraud vineyard has been largely composed of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay.

The vineyards of Aÿ, so loved by the French kings for centuries.

Leon Giraud who brought not only the Giraud name to the family estate but who fought in key battles for France and also revitalised the family's vineyards.

The 10 hectare estate gets its start with the Hemart family which first settled down in Aÿ in the 17th Century, said to be contemporaries of King Henri IV. They tended to their vines but as mentioned, operated solely as growers. Fast forward to the 20th Century, and the estate has been devastated by a combination of war and phylloxera - a hardworking Leon Giraud marries into the Hemart family and helps to rebuild the family vineyard. This became the start of the family's champagne making - however, much of the champagne that was made was simply sold to other houses. That was until 12th generation Claude Giraud came along.

Under Claude, the family-owned estate would return to a more traditional way of producing champagnes. "Barrel ageing had been completely abandoned in Champagne since 1950, but my father still carefully kept his barrels. For champagne wines to have had such a reputation even before they were foaming, the wine/wood pairing had to be extraordinary." says Claude. This led to the use of toasted Argonne oak barrels (as opposed to Bordeaux barrels) for the ageing of all base wines from Henri Giraud, which gives its champagnes a richer, more intense and full-bodied character, as well as better reflecting the terroir. Given the integral role of oak from the Argonne forests to Henri Giraud's champagne making, the producer has made sure to replant as many of such oaks as it uses, ensuring sustainable production into the future.

Claude Giraud.

For Claude, amazing wines produce amazing champagnes, and the expert use of of Aÿ Grand Cru terroir, Pinor Noir grapes and Argonne oak, is what makes Henri Giraud's champagnes so great.

Other notable aspects of Giraud's winemaking has been the use of terracotta and concrete eggs for fermentation, where the producer has done away with stainless steel tanks since 2016 - this is said to optimise the wine's contact with its lees. Vinification is also done with all natural materials and in toasted oak barrels which adds distinctiveness, depth and purity to the wines. The result of these initiatives is the production of about 250,000 bottles produced annually, spread across several ranges from the lighter Espirit, to the Argonne series (highlighting the use of Argonne oak), a Multi-Vintage perpetual reserve, as well as Coteaux Champenois still wines and Ratafia Champenois fortified wines. Within its champagne stable, while Henri Giraud tends to focus on the use of Pinot Noir, it does produce everything from Blanc de Noirs to Blanc de Blancs, and Roses in between, which are then aged across various types of vessels.

The ethos behind Henri Giraud is thus to produce "terroir focused, small yield" champagnes that lean on being Pinot Noir based and with vinification done in smaller and more traditional toasted local oak casks. Today, Claude is supported by Sebastien Le Golvet, his son-in-law, who runs the cellars and who is also responsible for sourcing the best Argonne oak for the vineyard's use. His daughter, Emmanuelle Giraud has also recently taken the reins as 13th generation Giraud to run the estate.

Today we're going to try the Henri Giraud Espirit Nature "G" Aÿ, which is an homage to the estate's desire to care for nature. It is an assemblage of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, very low dosage, aged in ovoid tanks and with 50% reserve wines matured in toasted small oak barrels from a single terroir enclave within the Argonne forest known as Chatrice.

Let's go!

Henri Giraud, Esprit Nature "G" Aÿ Champagne - Review

Tasting Notes 

Colour: Light Bright Gold

Aroma: Fresh, delicate citruses, with a slight yeastiness as well. There are bright orchard fruits of white peaches, green apples and pears, yellow apples and pears too, some light grapefruit. This is giving some light but vibrant acidity and a bit of chalkiness, with some very light brioche.

Taste: The freshness continues on to the palate, still very citrusy, light sweetness but it tends towards a more dry style here. Tangerine peels, green and yellow apple and pear skins, grapefruit flesh. The acidity is much more pronounced here with a bright sharpness.

Finish: Medium finish, the unripe orchard fruits persist with the acidity cutting through, alittle more brioche richness here.

My Thoughts

Really nice entry level expression from Henri Giraud. It stands out for having such big and bold flavours that's rich and well-balanced with the acidity. Here you're getting lots of powerful fruits, not so much of the sweetness, it tends towards a more dry style, but with a nice medium body and with good depth to it. This comes together to give it a very nice complexity where you've got all this bright acidity and fruitiness at the top, and then supported by some richness and depth to have it feel fuller and make an impression.

There's a solid bit of energy about it, but of course we'd love to see it get even more vibrant and energetic with more power and richness, but that's why we've got the rest of the Henri Giraud line up to go for - this is just the tip of the iceberg here. For the price, very good value and quality to be had here.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot