Henri Giraud

Henri Giraud Champagne has been produced by the same family since 1625, making it the oldest Champagne House still under original ownership by the same family. Since they first started their small Champagne business, the Giraud family have supplied twelve generations of private clients in France until, in 2000, the UK saw the dawn of its success on the export market.

Based in the village of Aÿ, the Giraud-Hémart family can boast 35 parcels of Grand Cru that yield opulent and complex fruit. At the helm is Claude Giraud, who represents the 12th generation of the Giraud-Hémart family in this region. Most unusually for Champagne, he is a man of the vines, an MD who plays a very active role in all aspects of production.

This Champagne is made entirely from grapes grown on the south-facing chalk slopes of the Grand Cru Aÿ district. The grapes are very carefully pressed before undergoing the first fermentation in oak barriques, contrary to the usual steel vat vinification. The house adopts a ‘Krug’ style approach to fermentations – that is to say, they are conducted in barrels sourced from the nearby Argonne forest.

After the second traditional bottle fermentation, the wine remains on its dead yeast cells for six years in order to build up a deep complexity, followed by disgorgement just before shipment to retain freshness. Bottle aging on their lees lasts for eight years, and following disgorgement, the wines are kept for a further six months before they are released onto the market.

The bottle itself is almost as unique as the wine, characterized by the traditional and graceful Pomponne shape no longer employed by contemporary Champagne Houses.

The name may not have the same resonance as a Krug or Dom Perignon, but make no mistake, Henri Giraud is a boutique house capable of producing staggering wines. Their relative obscurity is partly down to their small production and partly due to their choice to distribute their wines to private mailing lists in France and Italy prior to the release of the 1990 vintage.

"This may be the finest Champagne house virtually no one has ever heard of" – Robert Parker.