Guenin

History of Champagne Guenin

The Guenin family has been established in the village of Essoyes, in the heart of the Côte des Bar in the Aube, since 1648. It was in 1952 that Sébastien's great-grandfather, Paul Guenin, planted the first hectare of vines, thus laying the foundations of the family vineyard. His grandfather Michel Guenin, followed by his father Philippe, took over the reins, progressively developing the estate and installing a first press in 1987, a decisive step in mastering winemaking at the domaine. Sébastien, the eleventh generation of winemakers, thus represents the heir to a centuries-old expertise deeply rooted in this champenois territory.

After extensive studies in Beaune and several journeys to the heart of France's greatest vineyards, Sébastien Guenin decided in 2015 to create his own grower Champagne brand and to sign his first cuvée. His philosophy is clear: to bottle the passion and expertise inherited from generation to generation, while maintaining absolute control over quality, from the vine to the market. The estate is today certified Organic Agriculture and Haute Valeur Environnementale, two recognitions that bear witness to a sincere commitment to respectful viticulture.

Terroirs and Vines of Champagne Guenin

The vineyard of Champagne Guenin covers 17 hectares spread around Essoyes and a few neighbouring villages, all located in the Barséquanais, a sub-region of the Côte des Bar. The composition of the vineyard reflects the deep identity of this terroir: 92% Pinot Noir, 7% Chardonnay and a few ares of Pinot Blanc. The plots, predominantly planted on hillsides, benefit from fine sun exposure, an essential condition for optimal grape ripeness in this southern sector of Champagne. The soils are essentially clay-limestone, rich in Kimmeridgian limestone, a substrate that lends the wines a balanced minerality and great aromatic finesse, while encouraging the purest expression of Pinot Noir.

Production is deliberately kept limited to select only the finest plots, with low yields imposed by attentive and organic viticulture. Among the emblematic lieu-dits, one should note in particular the lieu-dit "Envers de Val Dessaux", with its clay and limestone soil, east-facing orientation, which gives rise to some of the estate's most complex cuvées. The Chardonnay vines, forty to forty-two years old, bring remarkable maturity and concentration to the blends. This care given to each plot, combined with a deep knowledge of the Aube's champenois terroir, constitutes the distinctive signature of Champagne Guenin among the récoltants-manipulants vignerons of the region.

Winemaking at Champagne Guenin

The winemaking at Champagne Guenin is based on committed technical choices, guided by the pursuit of terroir truth and the most authentic expression of each grape variety. The harvests are entirely manual, with whole-cluster pressing, a method that preserves the freshness of aromas and the delicacy of the juices. A significant portion of the base wines is aged in oak barrels, bringing toasted nuances and a silky texture, without ever overpowering the fruit. Depending on the cuvées, malolactic fermentation is carried out to round the wines and make them more harmonious on the palate. The dosage is kept to the strict minimum, or even eliminated for certain cuvées, in order to let the terroir express itself without artifice.

After the second fermentation in the bottle according to the traditional méthode champenoise, the wines age on lees for a minimum of twenty-four months, a duration that gives the Champagne Guenin wines their characteristic depth and complexity. For the prestige cuvée, barrel ageing can reach ten months, followed by an extended ageing of six years on lees, a rare and demanding process that places these wines in the category of the most remarkable vins de garde from the Côte des Bar. Indigenous yeasts are favoured, and the wines undergo neither filtration nor fining, in a commitment to total naturalness that respects the wine's vitality and its ageing potential.

The Cuvées of Champagne Guenin

Effloraison Brut: The estate's first cuvée and emblematic entry-level offering, Effloraison is a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, sourced from manual harvests and aged twenty-four months on laths. The colour is golden, enlivened by fine, persistent bubbles. The nose, fruity and expressive, reveals notes of citrus, pear, apple and peach, with a subtle toasted touch on the finish. The palate is indulgent, fresh and balanced, with a minerality typical of the Kimmeridgian soils of the Côte des Bar.

Liliale Brut: The Liliale cuvée is a blanc de blancs crafted from 100% Chardonnay, sourced from vines forty to forty-two years old, on east-facing clay-limestone soils. Aged twenty-four months on laths following partial ageing in oak barrels, this cuvée displays a dosage of approximately 1 g/L, making it virtually an extra-brut. It reveals on the nose notes of fresh citrus, apple, honey and white flowers, while the palate proves delicate, fresh and harmonious. 

Cuvée d'Argile Brut Nature: A single-plot, high-expression cuvée, the Cuvée d'Argile is a 100% Pinot Noir with zero dosage (0 g/L), sourced from the lieu-dit "Envers de Val Dessaux", a clay and limestone terroir whose very name evokes the richness of the champenois subsoil. Harvested by hand and pressed in whole clusters, the grapes are vinified and aged in oak barrels according to the traditional method. After a minimum of twenty-four months of ageing on lees, this brut nature cuvée reveals on the nose complex aromas of pear, berries and wild flowers, complemented on the palate by notes of brioche, toast and a subtle woody touch. The finish is clean, fresh and long, with a thread of woodland fruits such as blackberry, blueberry and violet. 

Vers le Bois Brut Nature: The "Vers le Bois" cuvée is the most radical and single-plot expression of Champagne Guenin. A Blanc de Blancs sourced from the eponymous plot in Essoyes, it is vinified and aged entirely in oak barrels, disgorged without any addition of expedition liqueur (Brut Nature, zero dosage), and cellared for at least five years on its lees. This long sojourn imparts an extraordinary depth and complexity to this cuvée. Visually, it presents a brilliant golden colour, adorned with a persistent and delicately creamy mousse. The nose is ample and nuanced: white-fleshed fruits, citrus, fresh yeasts and an assertive minerality reminiscent of chalk and wet stone. On the palate, the wine is taut, lively and highly precise, with a fruity richness that harmoniously balances with the vintage's natural acidity. ité.