Of Argonne, Terracotta & Time: Taste Testing Henri Giraud's MV Ay Grand Cru, 1990 Perpetual Reserve (PR) & 1990 PR Rose
Of the 17 Grand Crus of Champagne, Aÿ holds a special place in the history of the world's most beloved sparkling wine for being where it all began. And thus it is here that we find some of the most historic Champagne houses, with in particular one that goes back some four centuries to the year 1625 - this is of course the famed Henri Giraud.
Tracing a lineage back to François Hémart who was first granted land by the Church in the 17th century, the Hémart family would tend to their land for generations before eventually taking on the name Giraud in the 20th century when a soldier Léon Giraud was stationed in Aÿ and had fell in love with the maiden Madeleine Hémart. It was from the pair that their son Henri Giraud was born. Where Léon had laboured incredibly to replant the vineyards after the region-wide scourge of phylloxera, it was Henri who would push the family in the direction of finally establishing their own house by producing and selling Champagnes under the family's name, Giraud-Hémart. Up till that point, like many other growers, they would simply serve the humble role of growing the fruit but thereafter selling it to cooperatives, without ever having their name be heard. The then newly minted Champagne house would find success thanks to the meticulous viticulture and great land that would see quality wines produced, yet expansion was only on the cards when Henri's own son, Claude Giraud, had joined the family's house in 1972, at the tender age of just 20. Together with his father, Claude would expand on the family's success by helping to shape its vineyards, and opportunistically adding acreage in order to gain the nifty 10 hectares that they own today. Crucially, Claude would also see to it that the family's Champagne house take on its current name, Champagne Henri Giraud.
Yet, beyond matters of business, what was perhaps most defining of Claude was his deep passion for revitalising and reincorporating the historic terroir of Aÿ. Just over an hour's drive out from Aÿ stood the ancient Argonne forest, once heavily relied upon by Champagne-makers for its highly prized tight grain wood (that is the result of the poor and dry soil that only allows for slow growth) that was used for vinification. The wood from from Argonne forest requires trees to be aged for over a century before it is ready for use, and yet was renowned for its ability to impart delicate wood tones that would uplift a more elegant and lightly handed Champagne, without overpowering the wine itself. Yet, with the substantial damage to the forest as a result of the many battles of the Second World War that was fought in the forests, the some 150 coopers that once inhabited the land would of course flee for safety, which inadvertently saw the forest abandoned and eventually forgotten.
Yet, twelfth-generation Claude knew that the quality and potential of the forest never changed, and so in 1990, would decide to make a bold and pioneering move to dedicate his already small yield to producing a grande cuvee entirely out of Argonne oak - he called this Fût de Chêne or the Oak Barrel cuvee. From there on, Claude was convinced that the Argonne oak was as much part of the terroir as the fruit, and would work together with French coopers to better understand how Argonne oak was differentiated by DNA from other oak (most Champagne-makers use external coopers who supply barrels made of oak sourced from elsewhere), as well as the French National Forest Office to replant 12,000 trees annually to ensure its sustainable usage. By 2002, Henri Giraud would produce for the first time its landmark Argonne cuvee, with the Champagne vinified and aged entirely in Argonne wood. Claude would later go on to map the very terroir of the Argonne forests itself, harvesting wood from various plots of the forest and rotating them through the various wines to better understand the impact of the land on the oak and by extension the wines.
Less than a decade later, Claude would again rethink his aging vessel of choice - this time working with terracotta. Today, the use of terracotta eggs has become the object of desire for many natural winemakers - it's incredibly pricey and yet yields very interesting results - although for Claude this was something he had begun looking into as early as the mid-2000's. Claude was fascinated with the historical use of terracotta by the Greeks and Romans in transporting wines on their voyages, and had at the same time believed that perhaps organic and sustainable practices should not be confined solely to matters of the fruit, but that perhaps even the vinification vessel ought to also be made of natural materials. Even more so, Claude had observed that terracotta eggs were advantageous in their ability to maintain thermal insulation, allow for gentle oxidation through the natural porosity of the clay, and perhaps most interestingly allow for more continuous lees contact as a result of its ovoid shape which creates a gentle convection current that resembles an ongoing, natural batonnage. These terracotta eggs are artisanally made in Italy from Tuscan Impruneta clay, which Giraud has even advanced to experimenting with alternative ovoid shapes such as the dolium.
Claude Giraud, Emmanuelle Giraud Patour, and Sebastien Le Golvet.
Today, the Henri Giraud house also includes thirteenth-generation Emmanuelle Giraud-Patour and also Claude's son-in-law Sebastien Le Golvet, who also serves as the house's winemaker. Building upon the pioneering work of his father-in-law, Le Golvet has begun to also map out the various terroir from which the clay used in the terracotta eggs hail from and their impact on the wine, and has also blended the use of the terracotta for vinification, with then Argonne oak used for maturation of the Champagnes. Le Golvet has also introduced residue testing of the soils of the family's vineyards in order to ascertain a guarantee of their triple-zero approach of zero pesticides, insecticides and fungicides, with the family also no longer using any stainless steel - despite its trendiness! - in any of its winemaking, instead opting to toast every single Argonna oak barrel used by the house himself, even going so far as to begin experimenting with the use of custom barrels fitted with sandstone heads.
And so with all that said, it's time to try three of Henri Giraud's cuvees, starting with the Henri Giraud MV Aÿ Grand Cru Brut, and then the Henri Giraud Perpetual Reserve 1990-2021 (PR 90-21) and the Henri Giraud Perpetual Reserve Rose 1990-2022 (PR Rose 90-22)!
PS. Given how cult followed Henri Giraud is, allocations are incredibly limited, but if you do want to get your hands on them, PIVENE is the place to get them in Singapore, or alternatively check out their restaurant auterra.
Wine Review: Henri Giraud Multi-Vintage Aÿ Grand Cru Brut (Henri Giraud MV20)
80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, disgorged May 2024, 5g/L dosage.
Made with fruit entirely from Aÿ, the Henri Giraud MV20 is based on the 2020 vintage, with the addition of 33% perpetual reserve whose oldest wines are from the 1990 vintage. It is vinified in a mix of 50% new oak and 50% once-used barrels.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Light Gold
Aroma: Complex and layered, leaning to the juicier side of orchard fruit. It comes out at once: ripe red apple, Asian pear, Saturn peach, honeydew melon and a note of langsat, all lifted by a fresh white chrysanthemum top note. A clear thread of minerality runs through it, chalk, salinity and wet stone, set against a savoury dimension of nuttiness, vanilla, pastry, brioche and toast. Right at the edge sit a touch of iodine and a whisper of soy-sauce umami.
Taste: Supple and compact, held together by a taut lemon-zest backbone that never lets up. It opens on a distinctive fruity lusciousness, ripe pear, apple, apricot and grapefruit, the grapefruit sharpened by that constant citrus spine underneath. From there it builds towards honey and a concentrated savoury richness: toasted bread, toasted almond croissant, and a lift of bright, warm spice.
Finish: Clean, very long, yeasty and doughy, with a spring-water freshness. Dried apricot and nutty pastry nuances carry through, and the bright lemon zest holds well beyond the initial orchard fruit. Warm spice sits at the back, with a touch of liquorice.
My Thoughts
This one really rewards patience. It’s deliberately and masterfully made, with balanced acidity, real finesse and power held in reserve, while maintaining that signature backbone of dryness, that peel-like grip and bright minerality. Of the three it seems to carry the most orchard-fruit depth, yet the oak and pastry-led opulence never runs loose with the long, insistent citrus zest and mineral spine keeping it in check.
The MV blending appears to give us its layered pastry and spice that never gets heavy either. This already drinks superbly, though if you give this a bit more time in the cellar, it would be truly stunning in a couple of years.
Wine Review: Henri Giraud Perpetual Reserve 1990-2021 (Henri Giraud PR 90-21)
80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay.
A 100% perpetual reserve wine, the PR 90/20 is made with one-third of MV's perpetual reserve and two-thirds of Espirit's perpetual reserve that is then further aged for 3 years on the lees.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Gold
Aroma: On the richer side, full of ripe orchard fruit and leesiness. It opens on fleshy red apple and pear, with a good measure of peach and apricot, met by an equally vivid breadiness of sourdough crust and apple-pie pastry. The florals are soft and neutral: chamomile, dried baby’s breath and a touch of potpourri, lifted by orange blossom. Underneath sits a light mineral register of wet rock.
Taste: Full and layered on entry, rounded, with medium-plus weight. Very drinkable, its acidity softened and its zestiness present but held back. It’s got a core of dried apple, dried pineapple, honey and lemon peel, with a long trailing lemon zest that stays well moderated, before the whole thing turns towards fresh spring water. The acid tension stays balanced throughout.
Finish: Long and refined, with an obvious line of fresh spring water and salinity running through it. A little zestiness lingers, joined by cedar, nutmeg and warm spice, and some echoes of apple-pie pastry.
My Thoughts
Harmonious, also very vinous and built for the dining table. It sits in that medium-plus, oak-and-lees register that is substantial without tipping into heavy, holding proper tension and vinosity while its edges stay rounded. Of the three, this is the most immediately enjoyable for all on the first pour and the most forgiving; the reserve character gives it depth, but nothing about it demands work from the drinker.
Something you can be absolutely confident it will please the room. A crowd-pleaser in the best sense, and the clearest, most approachable expression of the house’s perpetual-reserve style.
Wine Review: Henri Giraud Perpetual Reserve Rosé 1990 - 2022 (Henri Giraud PR Rosé 90-22)
A new expression to the Henri Giraud range, this is a blend of PR 21-90 as the base and 4% still red wine that is Aÿ Grand Cru Rouge.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Rose Gold
Aroma: surprisingly complex and elegant, with real stone-fruit depth bookended by minerality. It opens on fleshy apricots and plums, a streak of sour plum, then strawberry, cranberry and raspberry. Bruised apple and fresh Chinese persimmon sit underneath, lending a riper, rounder edge. Above runs a lifted floral note of peonies and white roses. As it opens the nose turns drier, towards light lemon zest and a touch of chalky minerality.
Taste: Compact, supple and rounded, with a precise line of minerality. It opens on understated effervescence, then commits hard to luscious fleshy orchard fruit: pink grapefruit, red apple, apricot, plum, Japanese ume and strawberry. Sweetness and acidity sit in balance. A soft, ever-present zestiness threads through and leads into light savoury notes of cedar, lightly toasted nuts and beeswax, with chalk and a saline minerality closing things off.
Finish: Medium-plus in length, bready and zesty. It stays structurally firm, savoury and dry. Salted plum returns, alongside distinct sourdough and a yeasty leesiness. A well-developed spice signature runs underneath, the sort that points to Argonne oak and old reserve, and it then signs off on lemon peel.
My Thoughts
This ain’t just a pretty rosé made with white tinted with a splash of red as an afterthought. It’s a rounded, committed, thoroughly vinous rosé, elegant but with real substance behind it. What holds the attention is not prettiness but its vinosity and structure: the fruit is sculpted and deep rather than simply refreshing, and it carries a long, drying, spiced signature to close that is very compelling – as I mentioned it seems to point to the Argonne oak used.
You taste that lineage in the savoury, bready depth and the old-reserve spice more than in any single fruit note. It would stand up to roast poultry or an earthy-umami mushroom-driven dish, and it rewards anyone who wants a rosé Champagne to savour.
@CharsiuCharlie
