Thienot La Vigne aux Gamins Blanc de Blancs GC 2008 (750ML)

95 JS / 95 WE / 95 JD / 17 JR

Medium-bodied with aromas of dried lemon zest, white peach, toasted brioche, walnut and chamomile. It’s bright and tangy with very fine bubbles. Focused, fresh, complex and elegant - just what you want from a blanc de blancs. Structured and rich. Drink or hold. - James Suckling

This Champagne is sourced from the Grand Cru village of Avize on the Côte des Blancs. Fully mature while still textured, it offers white fruits, hints of toasted almonds and still shows strong minerality. Editors' Choice - Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast

A gorgeous Champagne from this estate, the 2008 Champagne La Vigne Aux Gamins is 100% Chardonnay from a single parcel in Avize that saw 100% malolactic fermentation and 2.4 grams of dosage. This light gold-hued beauty has a classic nose of stone fruits, candied lemons, honeyed minerality, and brioche. Playing in the medium-bodied end of the spectrum, it has a balanced, elegant style, good acidity, and a layered, lengthy finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. It should drink nicely for another 15 years from cold cellars. - Jeb Dunnuck

Striking stencilled front label rather reminiscent of an old madeira bottle. 100% old-vine Chardonnay from Avize. 100% malo. Disgorged September 2020. Dosage just 2.4 g/l. 3,745 bottles produced.
Marked, rather glamorous autolysis on the nose. Fine bead and lots of citrus zestiness. Bracing but not austere. Certainly tense rather than broad but this would make a fine aperitif. Impressive length. - Jancis Robinson

When Alain Thiénot discovered this stunning 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay vineyard, located in Avize on a hillside in the Côte des Blancs, his thoughts turned to his children, Stanislas and Garance, and he dedicated this plot to them both. Since that day, the Thiénot family has devoted special attention to tending the vines in Avize, and every year meticulous care is invested in maturing the few thousands of bottles lovingly produced. Planted more than sixty years ago, the Avize plot benefits from outstanding advantages. Its east-facing aspect warms the vine in the early morning, while the relatively shallow soil is ideal for enhancing the Chardonnay’s aromatic expression. The pure chalk subsoil is responsible for the wine’s finesse, while its propensity to millerandage, which forms smaller, aerated grapes, ensures excellent levels of ripeness.

The ultimate expression of the signature Thiénot style, the unique ageing of this single varietal vintage cuvée retains the specific character of the terroir, the year and natural Chardonnay aromas. La Vigne aux Gamins is a highly original Champagne, full of flavour. - Champagne Thienot