Champagne Champagne Gardet Millésimé Extra Brut 2013 10 years young, bright and beautiful – a simply excellent value for vintage Champagne!

Maison Gardet was established in the late 19th century when Charles Gardet, an entrepreneurial wine merchant, founded this house in Epernay. His son, Georges Gardet, moved the house to the charming village of Chigny-les-Roses in the 1930s. Today, the estate is owned by the  Prieux family, with Christophe Prieux running both this and the neighboring domaine of Maison Ployez-Jacquemart. The Prieux family’s roots to Champagne can be traced to the 1600s, and with Gardet’s rise in quality over the short few years of his ownership… this just might be the best Champagne house you’ve never heard of. 

Over the past few years, we’ve been blown away by the steady improvement of quality amongst the Gardet portfolio. This is an ancient house that has thrived under new ownership and a full-scale facility modernization. Tucked away between the two major cities of Champagne – Reims and Épernay – Chigny-les-Roses is an absolute must see. The village is nested right in the vineyards, standing against a cliff shelf, topped by the region’s dark verdant forest. A number of well-known producers have chosen this quaint village as their base, including Jay Z’s Armand de Brignac (aka Ace of Spades) and the Lasalle family. This beauty – mostly pinot noir (70%) then chardonnay (30%)  from some of the best Premier and Grand Cru vineyards of the Montagne de Reims and Vallée de la Marne is a spectacularly harmonious balance between bright, zippy freshness, and opulent, heady richness.

The cuvée is fermented in stainless steel, for both primary and malolactic secondary fermentation and left to age in tank for 8 months prior to bottle aging on the lees for at least 6 years prior to disgorgement. An Extra Brut level dosage of 4 grams/liter is made from the reserve wine and a natural beet sugar to finish things off. Initially, the aromas skew lean, with zippy notes of lemons, white peonies, tarragon, and crushed chalk. The aromas and flavors grow in time, as ripe and heady stone fruits, orange cream, toasted brioche, and vanilla bean rise to the forefront. This is a balanced, nuanced, and all in all delightful Champagne which – at an exceptional $40 – will outshine many a bottle at twice the price! Owner, Christophe Prieux, put it nicely, saying, “You don’t need an occasion to drink Champagne; you simply have to know how to create them.” We couldn’t agree more. Create away, friends!