Aÿ, April 9 – Champagne house Henri Giraud, which next year celebrates 400 years of the Giraud family as winemakers in Aÿ, today delivered its vision of the 2023 ‘Vins Clairs’ Vintage.
In a new video, cellar master Sébastien Le Golvet also announced that he has imagined a new barrel profile whose sandstone bottoms will better reveal the incomparable style of these wines.
Domaine Henri Giraud began by defining the style of the 2023 vintage in four letters: F.V.M.V. Starting with the Fougue (F, graded 1+) of this vintage which revealed itself right from the start, then the Vitality (V, graded 2+) whose saline dimension gives even more energy to the whole, then the Minerality (M, graded 2+) which contributes to the relief of the wines of this vintage and finally, the Vibrato (V) which is the ultimate achievement guaranteeing the elegance of the blend of these 2023 ‘Vins Clairs’.
Sébastien Le Golvet: “I think Henri Giraud’s 2023 vins clairs are bright and brilliant. They have ‘Vibrato’. You find what you’re looking for in a great wine, that unique vibrancy. These wines show a unique fougue, they are in perpetual motion. Our know-how and vision will preserve this energy in each of our bottles to reveal, after long years of ageing, a unique dimension.”
This year, two terroirs stand out in particular: the “Valnons”, the house’s historic terroir, which immediately expressed its warmth and grandeur. Then there’s the “Froides Terres”, in a style that’s always a little more discreet, but which is beginning to reveal itself in this early spring, with length and depth.
New innovation at Domaine Henri Giraud
In order to capture the energy of the HG 2023 ‘Vins Clairs’ and preserve it in the bottles for many years to come, Henri Giraud has worked on the creation of a new barrel with sandstone bottoms. This HG innovation will enable the wine to come into contact only with toasted oak (unlike normal barrels, whose bottoms – which account for 30% of the total surface area with which the wine comes into contact – are raw, i.e. not toasted). By completely eliminating any tannins that might be less pleasant, the wine will gain in precision and reveal the full dimension of this new vintage. The energy and elegance of the 2023 ‘Vins Clairs’ will thus be sublimated to bring out the ‘Vibrato’, the fundamental element of these 2023 ‘Vins Clairs’.
