Pierre Gimonnet

Special Club Oger 2017 | Bottle 75cl

The wine shows a pale yellow colour with silvery glints, kept crisp and clean by ageing in stainless steel. Fine bubbles rise steadily with a persistent mousse, a sign of a carefully managed second fermentation.

The nose opens on lively citrus, followed by juicy white orchard fruit and a touch of floral character. Extended lees ageing then brings out pastry notes, a lovely brioche warmth and a hint of almond, adding depth to the whole.

The palate opens with a clean, mineral tension, carried by a very restrained dosage. Full malolactic fermentation has rounded out the wine, giving it a generous, creamy texture that coats the palate without ever weighing it down. Citrus and white orchard fruit echo back, carrying through to a saline, lingering finish, where almond leaves a delicate imprint right to the end.

• Comté gougères
• Parmesan shortbread
• Smoked almonds

• Sole meunière
• Pan-seared scallops
• Turbot with hollandaise sauce

• Lemon meringue tart
• Almond financier
• Flaky brioche

Your bottle travels in packaging specially designed for shipping champagne, so it arrives home without the slightest knock. Once home, lay it down horizontally: this keeps the cork moist and maintains its seal. Choose a storage spot where the temperature stays fairly stable, ideally around 12°C, as fluctuations tire the wine and speed up its evolution. A touch of ambient humidity is welcome too, to stop the cork drying out over time. Keep it away from light, which can cause "light taint", an unpleasant note reminiscent of cooked cabbage. Finally, avoid vibrations, which disturb the wine unnecessarily over the long term. With these few simple steps, you'll let the freshness and tension of this Special Club Oger 2017 keep developing quietly, until the day you're ready to open it.

The style of the Special Club Oger 2017 from Pierre Gimonnet will keep evolving for several years, gradually revealing new nuances. This is a wine with an ageing potential of around 15 years.

• From 2029 the aromas move towards toasted brioche and yellow fruit, with a rounder, more polished texture on the palate.
• Up to 2037 the champagne keeps its freshness while developing notes of honey and gentle spice, for a beautifully harmonious balance.
• Around 2040 it reveals dried fruit and stewed fruit notes, a sign of full aromatic maturity.

Serve this 2017 at 9-10°C as an aperitif, or 10-12°C alongside a dish: the freshness shows off its tension beautifully without masking the aromas that have developed over time. A tulip glass is the best choice, taller than it is wide, concentrating the aromas towards the nose while still letting the bubbles do their work. Open the bottle by holding the cork firmly and turning the base, for a controlled, quiet release. There's no need to decant or open ahead of time: pour it straight away, as this champagne is ready to show its full complexity as soon as it's served.

Since 1750, the Gimonnet family has been growing vines on the Côte des Blancs, a story that winemaker Didier Gimonnet continues today at the helm of the House of Pierre Gimonnet. The estate is one of the founding members of the Club Trésors de Champagne, whose historic name, Special Club, this cuvée carries. This circle of growers champions a particular vision of Champagne: favouring harmony over intensity. Oger's Chardonnay also appears in the Oger Grand Cru, with an equally faithful sense of restraint.