Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru “Belemnita” 2009

Founded in 1830, Champagne Philippe Gonet sits alongside legends such as the Champagne Salon and Clos du Mesnil. The vineyards, which cover 19 hectares and are spread over 11 different villages, are dominated by Chardonnay. A third of the Chardonnay vineyards are located in Le Mesnil, the oldest of which was planted in 1929. Today the winery is run by the seventh generation of the family represented by brother and sister - Pierre and Chantal Gonet. They continue to produce wines that fully express the qualities of the Chardonnay grapes from Le Mesnil and have a distinct structure that reflects the rich, pure, nuanced mineral character of the Le Mesnil-sur-Auger terroir. The wine house has built its reputation on Blanc de Blancs wines for over 100 years. The Gonet family is one of the largest producers of grapes in Champagne, with most of it grown on their own land. Pierre and Chantal try to fully convey the qualities of Le Mesnil's terroir through their Blanc de Blancs cuvées.

Fresh chardonnay shows bright fruity profile and strong body. Chardonnay wines usually have expressed aromatic complexity and usually it happens due to winemaking techniques (particularly the use of oak promote notes of vanilla, smoke and hints of spices) rather than the variety's intrinsic qualities. Also, this variety can develop cream, yeast and brioche bread notes. Because of this high level of winemaker influence, Chardonnay has become famous as the "winemaker's wine".

The Champagne region combines specific climate, soil and topography conditions that form a unique terroir which is currently used by approx. 15 000 vine-growers and 300 wine houses. The region consists of 4 sub-regions - Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs, Vallée de la Marne and Côte des Bar. Each provides customers with a different style of sparkling wine. The dominant grapes are Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier that are mainly used in Montagne de Reims and Vallée de la Marne, while Chardonnay shows excellent results in Côte des Blancs. The region is even more appealing because of the so called "Growe's Champagne" wines, the production of which is overseen by one family from start to finish - they grow and press grapes, make wine and bottle it in the territory of one wine house. This gives the wine a true charm, aura and unique flavour.