Wine List
Nocturne: NV Blanc de Craie Brut, NV Esprit G Nature Brut
Grand Tasting : MV20 Fût de Chêne Brut, NV Hommage au Pinot Noir Brut, NV Esprit G Nature Brut, 2016 Argonne Brut
Gala Dinner : MV09 Fût de Chêne Brut Magnum, 2011 Argonne Brut Magnum, 2004 Argonne Brut Magnum
A Legacy Spanning Four Centuries
In 2025, the House celebrated the extraordinary 400th anniversary of the Giraud-Hémart family,
founders of Champagne Henri Giraud — a milestone that places this estate among the most historically significant champagne houses in the region.
The Giraud family traces its remarkable ancestry through that of the Hémarts, who have deep roots in Aÿ dating back to the 17th century. The house proudly considers François Hémart, who lived from 1625 to 1705, to be the founder of this four-century legacy. This extraordinary continuity of family ownership and winemaking tradition represents an almost unparalleled achievement in Champagne’s history.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Madeleine Hémart married Léon Giraud, who restored winegrowing at the estate after the devastating phylloxera crisis. Their son, Henri Giraud, expanded the family’s vineyard holdings in Aÿ after the Second World War, and today Claude Giraud serves as honorary president, while his daughter Emmanuelle Giraud is president, working together with managing director and cellar master Sébastien Le Golvet.
The house’s nine hectares of vines are all in the grand cru village of Aÿ, planted with 80 percent pinot noir and 20 percent chardonnay. Additional fruit is purchased, yet all of the grapes are pressed at Giraud’s facilities—the house does not buy any juice. After pressing in one of the house’s two pneumatic presses, the musts are given a cold-settling at 10°C prior to fermentation, which Giraud says results in better clarification and better development of aroma. The wines are fermented either in stainless steel tanks or in oak barrels, depending on which cuvée they are destined for, and all of the wines go through a full malolactic.
While Giraud uses oak from different areas in France, he has worked hard to revive the tradition of using wood from local Argonne forests. He began this project in 1989, working with the cooper Camille Gauthier, and soon became convinced of the suitability of Argonne oak. “We tried [wood from] several different forests,” he says, “and there was no question that the Argonne wood was the best for champagne, the one that most complemented its character.” This is partially because it seemed to emphasize the liveliness and vigor essential to making good champagne. “When we first started working with Argonne wood,” says Giraud, “we found that the wine was actually fresher and livelier when vinified in this wood compared to the wines vinified in tank. This is not at all what we expected.”
In the 1990 vintage, Giraud created the Cuvée Fût de Chêne to showcase the results of his work with Argonne oak, and today he vinifies another cuvée in Argonne wood as well, the Code Noir. Recently, he and Gauthier have taken their efforts one step further, seeking to provide documentable traceability for their sources of wood—beginning with the 2010 vintage, Giraud is using the first certified, entirely traceable barrels from specific areas in the Argonne, beginning with the forests of Châtrice and Beaulieu.
As this historic house approaches its remarkable 400th anniversary in 2025, it continues to honor both its ancestral heritage and innovative spirit, making it a true testament to the enduring legacy of Champagne’s greatest family traditions.