Writing in his Champagne Encyclopedia, Tom Stevenson says of the wines "All are excellent, but my favourite varies from year to year. Keeps getting better!" This is high praise indeed.
The Gimonnet family have been cultivating the vine in Cuis, on Champagne's famous Côtes des Blancs, since 1750, although for many years they sold their fruit to the aforementioned grandes maisons. It was not until the early 20th Century, as sales of his harvested fruit faltered, no doubt as a consequence of the recent war and economic depression, that Pierre Gimonnet turned to vinifying his fruit himself. Perhaps struggling to remain solvent, he advertised his newly fermented Champagnes for sale alongside his vin tranquille, the still wine of the region, and even unfermented grape juice; remarkably, all three cost the same. It must have been galling to receive such scant recognition - and such small financial reward - for the work involved in these vinifications.It was after 1955 that the wines of Pierre Gimonnet et Fils began to demonstrate the character that we see in them today. At this time Michel, Pierre's son, set about creating a range of Champagnes which would typify the exclusively Chardonnay Gimonnet style. Recognising the quality of the vineyards at hand, Michel raised the standard of the wines to match, and this has been continued through the next generation who continue to run the domaine today; Olivier and Didier Gimonnet, Michel's sons.
The Gimonnets restrict themselves to working solely with Chardonnay sourced from high quality plots on the Côtes des Blancs, with about 26 hectares all told, 14 hectares of premier cru vineyards in Cuis and 12 hectares of grand cru vines in Cramant and Chouilly. Since 2005 they have also tended vines in a 1 hectare plot in Oger, again rated as a grand cru site. The vineyards in Cramant include two plots first planted in 1911 and 1913, and the Gimmonnets are endowed with many old vines, the majority being more than 30 years old, with many over 40 years of age. Once harvested by hand, the fruit goes through a pneumatic press, and the juice is vinified in temperature-controlled stainless steel cuves which vary in size from 25 to 125 hectolitres, to facilitate fermentation plot-by-plot. The malolactic fermentation is encouraged, before what is now the vin clair is fined, a practice undertaken since 1996, and then chilled whilst they clarify, over a period of about six months. They are then cold-stabilised, given a light filtration, the liqueur de tirage is added to get the second fermentation underway, and the bottles are left in the cellar, for up to three years for a non-vintage wine, up to seven for one based on a single vintage. When the wine is finally being prepared for market, a heavy dosage is avoided, 5-8 g/l of sugar is a typical target. The non-vintage wines may incorporate up to 50% reserve wines, these being stored in bottle, an unusual practice the aim of which is to maximise freshness in the wines, until they are needed.