Henri Giraud is one of the oldest (1625) and most prominent family-owned Champagne Houses, known for its intense style, thanks to fermentation in special Argonne oak barrels. Chef de Cave (master of the cellar), said that Henri Giraud farms without pesticides or herbicides and produces its barrels. According to the Lambier Wines team, Champagne from Henri Giraud is always a non-trivial choice!
'Argonne' Ay Grand Cru Brut Rose 2011, a rare Champagne, is full of aromas of marmalade, buttered toast, mocha, and red berries. It is full-bodied, deep, and vinous, with great concentration, pleasing acidity, and elegant phenolic muscularity, emphasized by the small percentage of red wine in the blend. Long and extremely complex, it is sure to please Champagne connoisseurs who are tired of trivial flavors.
Powerful and dizzying in their youth, but when introduced to several older Champagnes from the Henri Giraud library, the team at Lambier Wines emphasized once again how gracefully Giraud Champagnes can age. Without the use of stainless steel, with a minimum of intervention and a natural winemaking process that brings Henri Giraud wines as close as possible to the truth of the terroir and its interaction with the special oak species. It is worth stopping here and talking about oak in detail. In 2005, Claude Giraud discovered that Argonne woods are a perfect match for wines from Champagne. It turns out that the geology of the soil influences the character of the oak, just like the vine itself. To trace its influence, grown in different terroirs, around 80 barrels are brought to the house each year and undergo a five-year rotation, experimenting with different cuvées. Each barrel is labeled with an indication of the section of the Argonne Forest where the oak grows. The natural approach is also reflected in the use of terracotta tanks, which provide excellent thermal insulation, guaranteeing the all-important protection against excessive temperature fluctuations. These are only a small part of the winemaking practices employed by the Champagne House of Henri Giraud. As the accompanying reviews attest, the team at Lambier Wines is, to put it mildly, partial to the wines of this family-owned Champagne House.