Henri Giraud

Aÿ Grand Cru Fût De Chêne Brut Champagne Blend

9.366 ratings
9.319 pro ratings
Aÿ, Vallée de la Marne, Champagne, France
Champagne Blend
Squash & Root Vegetables, Meaty & Oily Fish, Shellfish, Crab & Lobster, Cake & Cream, Soft Cheese, Hard Cheese, Salads & Greens, Salami & Prosciutto, Pork, Fish, Chicken, Duck, Onion, Shallot, Garlic, Nuts & Seeds, Fruit & Berries, Beans & Peas, Exotic Spices, Turkey, Pungent Cheese, Shellfish, Oyster
Top Notes For
David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Beautiful cuvée with age. Bottle bought 10 years ago and likely disgorged around 2010 or so.

Black cherries, liqueur tangerines, dried stone fruits, blackberries, mix of black raspberries/raspberries, rainier cherries, delicate but razor sharp chalkiness, limestone, sea spray, sea fossils, bread dough, baguette crust, soft wine spice, rainbow, floral bouquet, shape acidity, good tension, excellent structure & balance. The finish is elegant with power that lasts minutes. Excellent with Duck Confit, goat cheese with herbs.

Happy Global Champagne Day.

Beautiful cuvée with age. Bottle bought 10 years ago and likely disgorged around 2010 or so.

Black cherries, liqueur tangerines, dried stone fruits, blackberries, mix of black raspberries/raspberries, rainier cherries, delicate but razor sharp chalkiness, limestone, sea spray, sea fossils, bread dough, baguette crust, soft wine spice, rainbow, floral bouquet, shape acidity, good tension, excellent structure & balance. The finish is elegant with power that lasts minutes. Excellent with Duck Confit, goat cheese with herbs.

Happy Global Champagne Day.

Oct 28th, 2023
David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Happy Birthday Christina & Hedy.

Amazing heather honey, nuts, complexity, bruised apple, pear, excellent minerality/chalkiness, beautiful crisp acidy, baguette, breads dough, citrus blend, ginger, straw, withering & fresh spring flowers

Thanks Jeremy (fellow Somm) for sharing.

Happy Birthday Christina & Hedy.

Amazing heather honey, nuts, complexity, bruised apple, pear, excellent minerality/chalkiness, beautiful crisp acidy, baguette, breads dough, citrus blend, ginger, straw, withering & fresh spring flowers

Thanks Jeremy (fellow Somm) for sharing.

Mar 2nd, 2020
Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

8.9

Second sparkling wine tasted at Champagne Henri Giraud. Thank you Mèlissa for the tour and all the information on your winemaking process.

Deep yellow with light to medium liveliness. Rich nose with dark citrus notes, spices and marzipan. Some hay too. Medium acidity (6.5/10) and medium plus bodied. Very rich and creamy on the palate with red apples, spices, anise and well balanced. Mouthwatering minerality and a long finish. Drink till 2027.

This is the MV12 aka the Multi-Vintage 2012 with around 70% from 2012 whole the rest comes from 5 to 10 year old Reserve.

Second sparkling wine tasted at Champagne Henri Giraud. Thank you Mèlissa for the tour and all the information on your winemaking process.

Deep yellow with light to medium liveliness. Rich nose with dark citrus notes, spices and marzipan. Some hay too. Medium acidity (6.5/10) and medium plus bodied. Very rich and creamy on the palate with red apples, spices, anise and well balanced. Mouthwatering minerality and a long finish. Drink till 2027.

This is the MV12 aka the Multi-Vintage 2012 with around 70% from 2012 whole the rest comes from 5 to 10 year old Reserve.

Dec 14th, 2017
Shay A
9.4

Last week was a combo of 4th Friday and Open That Bottle Night on back to back nights. Needless to say, the lineup between both days was full of heavy hitters, so I’m only posting standout bottles.

Technically a MV blend. Not dissimilar to Krug in style...warm profile with baked fruits and some savory versus sweetness battle towards the finish. It has that ginger note I always associate with Krug, as well as toffee and sea salt. Honeyed stone fruits, limestone, good acidic backbone with warm baked bread consistent throughout. Delicious stuff. Thanks
@joe leatherwood .

Last week was a combo of 4th Friday and Open That Bottle Night on back to back nights. Needless to say, the lineup between both days was full of heavy hitters, so I’m only posting standout bottles.

Technically a MV blend. Not dissimilar to Krug in style...warm profile with baked fruits and some savory versus sweetness battle towards the finish. It has that ginger note I always associate with Krug, as well as toffee and sea salt. Honeyed stone fruits, limestone, good acidic backbone with warm baked bread consistent throughout. Delicious stuff. Thanks
@joe leatherwood .

1 person found it helpfulMar 6th, 2020
Francoise Gouges

Immensely délicate And délicious

Immensely délicate And délicious

Aug 3rd, 2016
Kenneth Korsbæk

Tasted it again on Day 2 of INPC 2015

Tasted it again on Day 2 of INPC 2015

Jul 25th, 2015
Sybaritewino C.Lawrence

mmmm, mmmm, good.

mmmm, mmmm, good.

Jun 20th, 2015
Zoe Shyn

Unusual color. Not my favorite.

Unusual color. Not my favorite.

Dec 11th, 2014
Mike D'Angelo

Fantastic Champagne

Fantastic Champagne

Nov 9th, 2014
Gabriel Markel

I drank it young...patience is a virtue. Flavors of green apples and oak.

I drank it young...patience is a virtue. Flavors of green apples and oak.

Nov 4th, 2014