Girard-Bonnet Champagne Premier Cru Recueil Extrait No 1

Classic Blanc de Blancs nose with citrus and subtle minerality. Medium-plus body with good weight, but limited complexity. Grapefruit bitterness and some acidity in the finish.

Girard-Bonnet and Simon Rion tasting : 100% Chardonnay. Disgorged 11 Dec 2023, 1.5g/l dosage. Selection of his best grapes from different plots for the year. Wow this was by far my favourite of the tasting, a beautifully balanced champagne with ripe, chiselled fruit and a firm acidic backbone. Some hint of oxidative notes. A champagne with presence.

WJ tasting at Pandomanium. Drank in WJ glass. From 50% ‘Les Mussettes’ in Le Mesnil and 50% ‘Caferlane’ in Oger. Dosage 1.5g/L. Disgorged 11 Dec 2023. Appearance is clear, pale intensity, lemon colour. Legs. Fine bubbles. Nose is clean, mediu+ intensity, with aromas of steeliness, wet stones minerality, perfume, citrus lemon. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium- alcohol (12.5%), medium+ body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of citrus lemon, sweet limes, green pear, lovely wet stones minerality. Long …

Dsg 12/2023. Nose of citrus and wet stone. Very straightforward palate, the wine still very primitive but with beautiful structure, orange peel, enormous minerality, and freshly cut lemon. It's a bit strict as is and would benefit from decanting, but the quality and structure shine through this armor of rectitude. Beautiful saline finish. A beautiful champagne, but one to wait.

Zippy and aperitify in profile, but with some nicely placed lemon and yellow pear notes to balance out the White Avenger Speedy McSpeedster mineral and crunchy melon rind elements. Skipping over the mid-palate, this cuts to the finish and pops on the back end. Interestingly, the fiery attack is somewhat short lived. After an hour of so of small-pour consumption, it becomes a bit winey, loose, and still-Chablis-esque. The persistence fades quickly and is all sappy yellow fruit. Kinda strange, …

Lunch with Champagne Girard-Bonnet (Sushi Miyu) : Apparently a 1 off release, 100% C, 50% Le Mesnil sur oger, 50% Oger old vines, 1.5g/l, disgorged 11 Dec 2023, Explosive aroma of brioche, orange peel, almonds, slightly flabby on the palate. If the acid were more prominent, this would be a winner. Nevertheless still an excellent sparkling.