The champagne house Henri Giraud looks back on a long and proud history. Today, the 12th and 13th generations work hand in hand with Claude Giraud and Sébastien Le Golvet. Chef de Cave Le Golvet draws from a wealth of 200 parcels planted with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, spread across the terroirs around Ay.
Argonne still plays an important role in many ways in the production of these exceptional champagnes. The Giraud family has discovered over 10 different terroirs for oak in the Argonne forest. The barrels used are made from this oak. All wines, except for the Rosé Dame Jane, are aged for a longer period in oak barrels. For this, they have developed their own gentle toasting process to capture the unique terroir of the region.
This "woody" style characterizes the champagnes of Henri Giraud but is remarkably well integrated and not at all overpowering. Nevertheless, the champagnes differ through the oak note from what one might be tempted to call "typical" champagnes.
The attention to detail at the winery goes even further. They have developed barrels that can be individually temperature-controlled to keep the fermentation going, as the huge cellars naturally do not have the same temperature everywhere.
And the latest project is the production of their own corks in Sardinia. Since they have not been satisfied with any cork manufacturer to date, they thought, "then we have to do it ourselves." It is currently much more expensive, of course, but they hope to uncover the "silent" cork flaw this way.
Impressive how truly everything is thought through from start to finish.
In the wooden boxes of the individually packaged wines, you will find a protocol indicating which employee was responsible for the inspection, so it is possible to see exactly where the error might have occurred.
Chapeau!
