Gaston Chiquet : Cuvée de Réserve Premier Cru Brut

Tasting Notes and Characteristics of the Cuvée de Réserve Premier Cru Brut NM (Non-Vintage) by Gaston Chiquet

Tasting

Color

The wine shows a bright golden-yellow color, enlivened by a very fine, almost lacy mousse that forms steady, persistent strings of bubbles.

Nose

The nose opens on ripe orchard and stone fruit, pear, apricot and plum, joined by notes of cherry, before revealing warm bakery accents of brioche and croissant developed through extended lees aging. Light toasted notes of grilled nuts, hints of citrus zest and ginger, and a saline, chalky minerality complete the aromatic profile.

Palate

On the palate, the texture is creamy and expansive, carried by a fine, enveloping mousse. Ripe fruit and biscuity, toasted-nut flavors unfold alongside citrus touches, supported by a well-judged acidity that keeps the wine fresh. The finish is long, aromatic and marked by a saline, chalky sensation typical of the Marne Valley's chalk-based soils.

Food and wine pairings

This Champagne Premier Cru pairs naturally with seafood and iodine-driven dishes: oysters, shellfish, raw fish tartare or scallop carpaccio all highlight its fine bubbles and saline freshness. It also partners well with grilled shrimp, white fish in a light citrus butter sauce, and puff-pastry seafood preparations such as seafood vol-au-vent or smoked salmon tartlets.

Serving and cellaring

The Cuvée de Réserve Premier Cru Brut NM (non-vintage) can be enjoyed on release, when its fruit and fine mousse are most lively, or kept a few more years in a cool cellar to let toasted, nutty and brioche notes deepen further.

Other characteristics

This champagne is produced in the brut style, with a dosage of around 8 to 9 grams per liter of residual sugar, keeping it dry while allowing a touch of roundness to balance its natural acidity.

A Champagne Premier Cru from Gaston Chiquet, Shaped by the Marne Valley's Chalk Soils

The Estate

Gaston Chiquet traces its brand back to 1935, when Gaston Chiquet established his own label after years spent elaborating champagne alongside his brother Fernand. Based in Dizy, in the heart of the Marne Valley, this independent, family-run Champagne house farms close to 23 hectares across Dizy, Aÿ, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and Hautvillers. Today the estate is led by Antoine and Nicolas Chiquet, with Marion Chiquet representing the fourth generation since 2014. Gaston Chiquet vinifies only its own estate-grown grapes, is certified for sustainable viticulture, and belongs to the exclusive Club Trésors de Champagne.

The Vineyard

The grapes for this Champagne Premier Cru come primarily from the villages of Dizy, Hautvillers and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, complemented by a share from Aÿ, a Grand Cru. These Marne Valley vineyards sit on clay and limestone soils over a chalky subsoil, a combination that favors water retention, mineral tension and the fine saline character found in the finished wine. South-facing or southeast-facing slopes along the river help ensure steady ripening of meunier, chardonnay and pinot noir.

Blend

As a non-vintage champagne, this cuvée is built around a recent base vintage completed with a meaningful share of older reserve wines, kept to preserve a consistent house style from one release to the next. Depending on the specific disgorgement, the base vintage and the exact proportion of reserve wines may vary slightly, while the underlying blending philosophy, combining freshness from a young vintage with depth from aged reserves, remains constant.

Winemaking and aging

Each parcel is vinified separately in small stainless-steel tanks, without any oak contact, preserving the purity of the fruit and the minerality of the terroir. Malolactic fermentation is carried out across the blend to bring roundness and stability to the base wines. The Cuvée de Réserve Premier Cru Brut NM (non-vintage) is then left to age on its lees for an extended period before disgorgement, allowing the wine to gain complexity while a moderate dosage keeps it balanced and food-friendly.

Grape Varieties

This cuvée is a blend of the three traditional Champagne grapes, approximately 40 % meunier, 35 % chardonnay and 25 % pinot noir, a composition that may shift slightly from one tirage to the next.