2018 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Special Club Cuis Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 1er Cru, Champagne

A youthful and very minerally Blanc de Blancs with excellent drive and purity. Lovely white flower and lemon zest notes emerge. Long and very focused. A cuvee of 85% from the Croix Blanche and 15% from Les Roualles. Bottled on the 9th May 2019 and disgorged in April 2023. Drink or hold.

94 points James Suckling

Few Champagne growers understand Chardonnay quite like the Gimonnet family. Based in the Premier Cru village of Cuis, Pierre Gimonnet & Fils has been cultivating vineyards in the Côte des Blancs for generations, with Didier and Olivier Gimonnet continuing the family's dedication to beautifully pure, finely structured Champagne. Special Club is a prestigious designation reserved for exceptional vintage Champagnes from members of the Club Trésors de Champagne, making this a particularly exciting release.

Cuis sits at the northern end of the Côte des Blancs, where chalk rich soils and cooler vineyard exposures produce Chardonnay with remarkable freshness and delicate floral character. The generous 2018 vintage delivered ripe, healthy fruit, giving this Extra Brut a wonderful combination of concentration and lively acidity. Extended ageing on lees adds complexity while allowing the village's distinctive mineral personality to remain beautifully clear.

Brilliant pale gold with a fine, persistent bead. Lemon blossom, ripe green apple and white peach mingle with toasted sourdough, fresh almond and crushed chalk. The palate is energetic and beautifully detailed, with a delicate creamy mousse, vibrant citrus fruit and a fine, almost powdery mineral texture. Hints of grapefruit zest, oyster shell and toasted pastry linger through a long, wonderfully dry finish.

A Champagne that deserves a place at the dinner table. Try it with freshly shucked oysters, delicate crab and ginger dumplings, or pan fried King George whiting with lemon and capers. Crispy artichokes with saffron aioli would be equally delicious.

Cellaring: Drink now to 2038. Already showing lovely complexity, with the freshness and structure to develop beautifully over the next decade.