Pierre Gimonnet et Fils

The Gimonnet family has been present in the village of Cuis since the middle of the 17th century, and its history has been bound up with the Champagne vineyard since around 1750. For centuries the Gimonnets were growers who delivered their harvests to the Champagne trade. The first known labels bear the name of Henri Gimonnet, in the early 20th century. Winemaking began in earnest between the two world wars: the economic depression of 1929 ended the family's grape sales to the trade, which could not pay decent prices. In the early 1930s Pierre Gimonnet published the house's first price list, which offered fresh grape juice alongside still wine from Champagne, cru Champagnes and a wine from Les Roualles, a lieu-dit of Cuis. From 1955 Pierre's son Michel Gimonnet joined the family business and introduced parcel-by-parcel vinification in small stainless-steel vats. The house is still family-owned and is co-directed by Olivier and Didier Gimonnet, two of the four children of Michel Gimonnet and Françoise Gimonnet Larmandier. Its Champagnes are sold in more than 40 countries.

• Family present in Cuis since the mid-17th century; tied to the Champagne vineyard since around 1750
• First known labels: Henri Gimonnet, early 20th century
• 1929: the economic depression ends the family's grape sales to the Champagne trade
• Early 1930s: Pierre Gimonnet publishes the house's first price list
• 1955: Michel Gimonnet joins and introduces parcel-by-parcel vinification in small stainless-steel vats

Olivier and Didier Gimonnet co-direct the house; they have worked the vineyards and made the wines together for more than 30 years. The family credits their father, Michel Gimonnet, with initiating the Pierre Gimonnet & Fils style. Their grandfather Pierre turned to making wine because a kilo of grapes did not pay enough.

• Olivier Gimonnet: co-director
• Didier Gimonnet: co-director
• Michel Gimonnet: Pierre's son; joined the family business in 1955
• Pierre Gimonnet: grandfather of Olivier and Didier; issued the house's first price list in the early 1930s
• Françoise Gimonnet Larmandier: mother of Olivier and Didier; most of the Cramant vineyard came from her side of the family

The first vineyards lay only in Cuis until 1950. Today the estate owns 29.40 hectares, all on Premier and Grand Cru slopes of the Côte des Blancs, with about 13 hectares of Grand Cru and 16 hectares of Premier Cru. Cuis Premier Cru has been farmed from the start; in Chouilly Grand Cru the estate holds 3 hectares on the Montaigu lieu-dit, planted in 1951; Cramant came in from 1958, mostly from Olivier and Didier's mother, née Larmandier; Oger followed in 2005 and Vertus in 2008. In Oger the house began in 2005 by renting 1 hectare of vines. Of the estate's holdings, 15 hectares lie in Cuis, including Croix Blanche, a 4.35-hectare parcel just behind the house. The vineyard supplies all of the house's fruit, as it buys no grapes. The oldest parcels were planted in 1911 and 1913 in the heart of Cramant Grand Cru. The estate's English brochure gives half of the vineyard as more than 35 years old and 80% of the Grand Cru parcels as planted more than 45 years ago, and the estate favours massal selection. In the vineyard, the house practises viticulture raisonnée: herbicide use is kept to a minimum, some parcels are grassed and most are worked by soil cultivation, fertiliser is close to none so that roots go deeper into the chalk, and mating disruption replaces insecticides.

• Cramant Grand Cru lieux-dits: Buissons, Fond du Bateau, Bionnes, Bauves and Grosmonts
• Chouilly Grand Cru lieux-dits: Montaigu and Les Ronds Buissons
• Oger Grand Cru lieux-dits: Les Terres de Noël and Champs Nérons
• Cuis Premier Cru lieux-dits: Croix-Blanche, Roualles and Basses vignes
• Since 2016, 50 ares have been added to the vineyard in Cuis

All grapes are picked by hand and pressed less than 6 hours after picking, with the cuvée juice separated from the tailles. The juice settles naturally in the cold for 24 hours, and fermentation starts less than 36 hours after pressing. Each parcel is vinified separately in stainless-steel vats, and the wines are matured on fine lees without bâtonnage, for a length set by tasting. In spring, around forty different vins clairs are tasted and assessed for blending. The non-vintage cuvées blend wines from at least five different years, and all of the reserve wines are kept in bottle. Each year the Cuis 1er Cru Brut is the domaine's first priority. Gimonnet describes its house style as one of vivacity, great purity and a rare minerality. The estate holds that a balanced Champagne need not wait years to be pleasant but can keep for years.

• Hand-picked grapes, pressed less than 6 hours after picking
• Natural cold settling for 24 hours; fermentation under way less than 36 hours after pressing
• Parcel-by-parcel vinification in stainless-steel vats; maturation on fine lees without bâtonnage
• Non-vintage blends draw on at least five different years; reserve wines are kept in bottle

The Brut Cuis 1er Cru, a non-vintage blend of at least five different years, is the domaine's priority cuvée. The Extra Brut is the non-vintage brut kept longer on fine lees and given a very low dosage. The Rosé de Blancs, sold since 2012, is 92 to 95% Chardonnay with 5 to 8% Grand Cru Pinot Noir. Among the vintage cuvées, Gastronome has been made since 1947 and was first created for restaurants; its second fermentation is limited by adding less sugar than usual (20g instead of 24g), giving a particularly fine mousse. Fleuron, made since the 1930s, was the domaine's first vintage cuvée. Oenophile is a Brut Nature with no dosage. The prestige CLUB Grands Terroirs, the Special Club Grands Terroirs de Chardonnay made since 1971, blends vines over 40 years old, including the two oldest planted in 1911 and 1913, drawn mainly from Cramant Grand Cru with Chouilly Grand Cru (Montaigu) and a touch of Cuis 1er Cru (La Croix-Blanche). The Millésime de Collection uses the same blend as the Special Club, with its second fermentation and maturation done only in magnum. A non-vintage Oger Grand Cru has been made since 2011, and single-terroir Grand Cru cuvées from Cramant, Chouilly and Oger since 2012: the Oger comes from 4 lieux-dits, the Chouilly from the estate's 3 hectares of Montaigu, and the Cramant from no fewer than a dozen parcels. A Special Club Cuis 1er Cru, mostly from Croix Blanche, was first made from the 2018 vintage; the house makes it in only 7,540 bottles. The estate's English brochure gives output as some 250,000 bottles a year, 30 to 40% of them vintage wines.

• Non-vintage: Brut Cuis 1er Cru, Extra Brut, Rosé de Blancs, Oger Grand Cru
• Vintage: Gastronome, Fleuron, Oenophile (Brut Nature)
• Prestige and collection: CLUB Grands Terroirs (Special Club Grands Terroirs de Chardonnay), Millésime de Collection in magnum
• Single-terroir Special Club: Oger Grand Cru, Cramant Grand Cru, Chouilly Grand Cru, Cuis 1er Cru

In a grower Champagne feature for Decanter, Tom Stevenson named Pierre Gimonnet, with Vilmart & Cie and Serge Mathieu, as the epitome of grower Champagne, and called Didier Gimonnet one of Champagne's greatest exponents of pure Chardonnay.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/un-domaine-familial-et-vignerons-avant-tout/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/un-terroir-unique-chef-doeuvre-de-la-nature/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/un-style-reflet-du-terroir-et-dun-savoir-faire/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/une-viticulture-respectueuse-du-terroir/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/lart-de-lassemblage/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/notre-philosophie-du-champagne/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/cuvees/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/produit/special-club/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/produit/cuis-1er-cru/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/mentions-legales/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/wp-content/themes/gimonnettheme/pdf/brochure-gimonnet-en.pdf, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/produit/gastronome/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/produit/rose-de-blancs/, https://www.champagne-gimonnet.com/produit/oenophile-non-dose/. Secondary source: Decanter (Tom Stevenson), https://www.decanter.com/features/small-in-size-big-in-character-247390/. Last verified 2026-10-21. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.