Champagne Alexandre Grimée

Alexandre Grimeé loves Meunier. His various mottos might be loosely translated as “initimately Meunier,” or “one hectare of life in the country of Pinot Meunier.” Indeed, outside of harvest, Alexandre tends to his one hectare of vines alone, as his own personal garden.

Based in the Bonneil, in the western region of the Vallée de la Marne, the vines sit upon a steep slope, surrounded by forests growing upstream and marl flowing downstream. The vines benefit from a southern exposure on calcareous clay suitable for the ideal ripening of Meunier. Here, alone, his philosophy is to be “a companion, discreet but present, to the vine and wine.”

Robert Parker listed Clos des Papes as one of the Top 155 Producers in the World.

Alexandre farms organically, and by the end of 2023, the entire estate will be certified organic. “The vines are grown with the idea that nothing is taken for granted,” he says, “and that each new season is a challenge. Follow the rules dictated by nature, which is never its clone from one year to the next, but also by the desire to find methods that will make the vine evolve in an ever more complete environment.” True to his philosophy, each year’s winemaking adapts to its unique vintage, as Alexandre commits himself to further research and learning. For this 2018 offer, there was no malolactic fermentation as it was a warmer vintage. Only one cuvée was produced in 2018: Sous les Trous.

Alexandre was just 25 when he produced his first vintage in 2014. He has received a great deal of recognition for his one hectare garden. Alexandre Grimée is a producer to watch.

"It boasts a cool, fresh nose of strawberries, cola and tree bark, yet it's full-bodied and tannic on the palate."

WA96 by Joe Czerwinski

2017 Clos des Papes • Chateauneuf du Pape

He blends grapes from his different plots to co-ferment in large vats, after which he then re-blends in to large 20-55 hectoliter wooden foudres (casks) to mature for 15 months. New or small barrels are never used, “I like the oak to make an indirect impact – I only want tannins from the grape skins not even the pips and certainly not the stalks” says Avril. And though it may not be widely known, this domaine has been buying corks from the same producer in Portugal ever since 1926!

The wines are no doubt enticing, garnering great praise from many publications and critics such as Wine Spectator who awarded their 2005 vintage as “Wine of the Year”, stating that “in the Southern Rhône's recent trio of great vintages starting with 2003, no other Châteauneuf-du-Pape domaine has produced better wines than Clos des Papes”. But the accolades don’t stop there, as Robert Parker followed on to pronounce the 2007 vintage “the greatest Chateauneuf du Pape made since 1978 and 1990”.

We at Ginsberg+Chan are extremely proud to be the exclusive distributors of Clos des Papes, and with good volumes of both red and white back vintages too, we can ensure you a wide range of drinking windows for your cellar.