Description

The stunning, endulgent and multilayered 2008 Cuvée Alain Thiénot is sourced mostly from their own vineyards in Premier and Grand Cru villages. A blend of 60% Chardonnay from Avise, Cramant, Ogers and Bassuet and 40% Pinot Noir from Aÿ, Coumières and Pierry. As with all Thienot wines they undergo malolactic fermentation and long aging here 12 years before disgorgement and further time in bottle. This is delicious now with so much depth and length but it has a long life ahead.

Having spent many years as a broker between the Champagne growers and the Grand Houses, Alain Thiénot, bought vineyards and set up his own House in 1985. The original house in the Rue des Moissons, in the middle of Reims, with a warren of chalk cellars, was soon outgrown and a purpose-built winery was built just outside the city. The cellars at Rue de Moissons are still used to age and hand riddle the bottles. The Estate is now run by the charismatic Stanislas Thienot and his sister Garance, with guidance from cellar master and viticulturist Nicolas Uriel. Thiénot source about 50% of their fruit from their own vineyards, higher than the average, mostly from Grand and Premier cru villages in the Montagne de Reims and the Côte de Blancs. Nicolas Uriel champions the Pinot Meunier grape, “when you can get top quality fruit it would be a shame not to use it!” often left out by the big houses and their blends fluctuate between the three classic varietals each year to maintain the House style.