#Henriot hemera full#

They have two cuvГ©es de prestige: Hemera, a vintage champagne made of chardonnay and pinot noir from grand crus in the same proportion, and Cuve 38, my favorite, actually one of my all-time favorite champagnes. Their delicious vintage champagnes include brut and rosГ©. The non-vintage cuvГ©es now include brutвЂ“a true charmerвЂ“three rosГ©, and blanc de blancs of course. The range is pretty focused and solid, although it has been expanded. Henriot champagnes are characterized by a high proportion of chardonnay in the blends, which brings delicate and complex aromas, for overall finesse, elegance, but also minerality, fruitiness of citruses, viennoiseries and toasted aromas.

#Henriot hemera full#

All the wines undergo full malolactic fermentation. All the vinifications are done in stainless steel thermoregulated vats to keep the pure expression of the terroirs. They vinify all the terroirs separately, grouping two or three villages that share some similarities. They rely on vine growers, mostly in grands and premiers crus, to supply the rest of the grape needed for a yearly production of almost 1 million bottles. The house owns 35 ha located in prestigious terroirs mainly in Avenay, Chouilly, Epernay, and Mareuil-sur-AГї.

She brings her vision of champagne to perpetuate the Henriot style.

An enologist from Champagne, she has a long experience in winemaking, but also in managing vineyard relations, and marketing, at some of the greatest houses in the region. In February 2020, Henriot appointed Alice TГ©tienne as its new chef de cave, also in charge of the vineyard. We are not looking for mass production rather we aim to make things perfectly and carefully, with high-quality grapes.вЂќ His nephew Gilles de LarouziГЁre took the relay, continuing the family tradition of elegance in the wines and the spirit of the house. In keeping Henriot in the family, we craft champagnes with an artisanal spirit. He explained to me the importance of keeping Henriot independent: вЂњI believe that large groups involved in champagne contribute to its success but deviate the focus from champagne to something more industrial. I had the chance to interview him and meet a maverick entrepreneur, very attached to his region and his family. He eventually refocused on Henriot and its development from 1995 until his death in 2015. He was a major figure in the champagne world, having owned or managed other superb houses: de Venoge, Charles Heidsieck, and Veuve Clicquot. The subsequent generations of Henriots continued to conquer new markets worldwide, while expanding the vineyard that became of considerable size, spread over some of the best crus in the CГґte des Blancs, the VallГ©e de la Marne, and the Montagne de Reims.ДЇrom the 1960s, Joseph Henriot headed the house. His son Etienne, an agronomist, continued his work in the aftermath of WW1 until 1957 and introduced many technical improvements in the vineyard and the winemaking. This is when the intimate connection of Henriot with chardonnay started. In 1880, Paul Henriot, nephew of Ernest, married Marie Marguet, who brought to the family new vineyards in the CГґte des Blancs, and picked up the baton. In 1875, Ernest ended his partnership with Charles to refocus on his familyвЂ™s brand by creating Henriot & Cie, defining the houseвЂ™s current name. In 1851, Ernest Henriot, grandson of Apolline, joined in business his brother-in-law, Charles вЂњCharlieвЂќ Camille Heidsieck who created the brand Charles Heidsieck. When Nicolas died in 1805, Apolline, who was just 30, took over the wine estate and in 1808 founded her business under the name Veuve Henriot AГ®nГ©, spreading its reputation to the royal courts of Europe over the following decades. The newlywed decided to focus primarily on viticulture.

In 1794, Nicolas Simon Henriot married Apolline Godinot, niece of the AbbГ© Godinot, an eminent scholar who contributed to elaborate the essential principles in viticulture and the making of champagne. Active in the drapery business, they were also involved in the wine trade by the end of the 18th century. Natives of Lorraine, the Henriots relocated to neighboring Champagne around 1640. If there is one Champagne house that incarnates the refined style of French elegant families, this is Henriot. The identity of the house and its wines are strictly connected to chardonnay and its inborn elegance, with sobriety. Founded at the beginning of the 19th century and located in its Art Nouveau building in Reims, Henriot is one of those rare, great Champagne houses that have remained entirely family-owned since their inception.