Champagne Girard-Bonnet - Mon Village Grand Cru NV

This Mon Village hosts lightness as the main characteristic of the slender body, fringed by a touch of apple pip bitterness.

Paul Girard embodies both of his parents’ ancestry and brings new life to Chardonnay through a stunning selection of Côte des Blanc Champagnes. Merging the Girard & Bonnet Estates in Mesnil sur Oger he works towards creating a grower-maker brand in honour of his origins. This cuvee is 50% vintage harvest, 50% reserve wines.

The 2021 vintage-based NV Blanc de Blancs Mon Village, sourced from Les Chétillons, Côte, Les Musettes and Montpetins lieux-dits in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, is another success from Girard-Bonnet. Complemented by 30% reserve wines from 2018 to 2020 kept in foudre, it was vinified in barrels (350 and 500 liters) and disgorged in February 2024 with three grams per liter dosage. Wafting from the glass with a bouquet of white flowers and orchard fruit, mingling with aromas of oyster shell and orange rind, it’s textural and fleshy, contradicting the incisive base vintage. With a vibrant spine of acidity, it is elegantly mineral, presenting a charming profile that will offer a broad drinking window. Based on thoughtful viticulture, the results speak for themselves, echoing Paul Girard’s belief that “the harder you work in the vineyards, the less you have do in the cellar,” as the most interesting fruit are produced from harmonious vines growing in living soils. 92 points - Kristaps Karklins, Wine Advocate.