This new cuvée that replaces the old Hommage. It has the Giraud’s signature combo of richness and saltiness like the rest of the range. A new Giraud classic! The PINOT NOIR, grandfather of Syrah and father of Chardonnay, deserved in our eyes Respect, Humility and Time too. The PINOT BLEU, also known as “petit doré” – “small golden” in Aÿ, because of the golden points stuck on its bloom shine at harvest time, is of such complexity, freshness and elegance that it has become the grail that every great wine would like to reach. A wine, which will draw so far back to its origins in a bed of coccoliths stratified there 90 million years ago, deserves respect. Let’s pay tribute to the aura it has hung over Champagne in just four centuries. Technical data: 100% Pinot Noir Raised during 54 months in total calm 12 months on lees without transfer in small oak barrels, then 6 months on fine lees to get ripe at ground temperature, this process is called “mise retardée”. 36 months of ageing in bottle. Background Information: Contemporaries of Henri IV and his descendants, the Hémart family settled permanently in Aÿ at the beginning of the 17th century. Their history took root there and became closely interwoven with the momentous historical events relating to Champagne from the 18th century onwards. At the opening of the 20th century, Léon Giraud married Miss Hémart and reconstructed the magnificent family vineyard, which had been ravaged by phylloxera. Today, Claude Giraud, the 12th generation of the Giraud-Hémart family, is in charge of the fortunes of the family business. The Giraud-Hémart family own 20 hectares – 35 parcels of Grand Cru land of which 26 is planted with Pinot Noir and 9 with Chardonnay. Only 17 of the Champagne region’s 323 Crus are classed as Grand Crus (rated 100%). The wine production of Giraud estate is environmentally-friendly, subscribing to the ‘lutte-raisonnée’ (limited intervention grape growing). The overall production is limited to 250 000 bottles a year, making the Giraud Champagne stand apart from the majority of bulk-producing champagne houses. The Giraud house is one of the few houses (Krug is another example) that conduct primary fermentations in oak. Henri Giraud pride themselves on sourcing wood for its barrels from the slow growing, tight grained, high quality trees of the ancient forest of Argonne, lying just 35 miles from the estate. Described by leading wine critic Robert Parker as “the finest Champagne house virtually no one has ever heard of”. The reason for this is that until the 1990s their wines were only sold directly to discerning, well-informed private customer in France and Italy.