Champagne Gremillet turns spotlight on Aube Pinot Noir

Champagne Gremillet is to highlight the quality of Pinot Noir from the Aube region with a tutored tasting co-hosted by winemaker Jean-Christophe Gremillet and wine writer Jane Parkinson in London.

Champagee Gremillet is about to launch its first UK-focused publicity campaign (Photo: Champagne Gremillet)

The event – part the first UK-focused publicity campaign for the Champagne house, will be targeted at selected trade and press and will take place on 27 March at German Gymnasium in Kings Cross, London.

The tutored tasting will examine the impact of Pinot Noir from the Aube in a Champagne blend, with a focus on Gremillet’s Blanc de Noirs. As much as 94% of Gremillet’s vine stock is Pinot Noir.

Champagne Gremillet was launched by Jean-Michel Gremillet in 1979. His son Jean-Christophe and daughter Anne later joined the family business along with their partners. Champagne Gremillet now produces around 500,000 bottles each year and exports to 53 countries.

Located in the commune of Balnot-sur-Laignes in the Côte des Bar, 45km from the region’s historic capital, Troyes, Gremillet farms 40 hectares of vines (28 owned and 12 leased) as well as working with partner growers from across the region.

Gremmillet also owns 7ha of vineyards in the hills of Les Riceys. Most of Gremillet’s Pinot Noir-dominated vine stock is planted in limestone-clay soil on steep, well-exposed slopes, which bring out the full strength and fruity flavour of the variety.

“It’s been my dream come true to create our family’s own Champagne and to do it with the help of all my family,” winemaker Jean-Christophe Gremillet said.

“We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved and in such a short space of time. Our plans going forward are to continue to grow and to expand our global reach including for 2017 a new focus on the UK, which is a very important market for us.”

The Aube department, in particular the primary growing region of the Côte des Bars, accounts for around 24% of vineyard plantings in the Champagne region, according to the Comité Champagne. The majority of these plantings (c.75%) are Pinot Noir.

Once overlooked as a region that merely supplied grapes for the prestigious Champagne houses to the north, the Aube has in recent years become better known for its own independent vignerons and its terroir-focused approach to Champagne production.