Every champagne connoisseur should visit a Winehouse at least one time in their life. But which house to visit? An obvious choice would be the house of your favorite champagne. Then you will experience a whole new dimension within the world of champagne. Last summer we went to the small village Aÿ in the western part of the Champagne area. Beautiful village with classic french provincial architecture, and of course several champagne houses.
Aÿ houses well-known producers such as Bollinger, Deutz and Ayala. These houses have in common that they were established in the 1800-century. Unlike the champagne house Henri Goutorbe, which was established in 1922. Goutorbe is a family business, started by Henri Goutorbe himself. Today, the house is run by Henri’s son, René, and René’s two children, Elisabeth and Etienne. Goutorbe uses a significant proportion of Pinot Noir in their champagnes. While the Chardonnay champagnes are fine and elegant and very well-suited as aperitif, the Pinot Noir champagnes often have a little more filling, which makes it more suited for food.
We were staying at the hotel Castel Jeanson nearby Henri Goutorbe. As hotel guest we were allowed to visit and taste Goutorbe with no extra charge. They introduced us for their grape pressing machinery. Where the grapes will be pressed as soon as possible, especially with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, as skin contact with these dark skinned varietals will soon begin to taint the juice if left on the skins. Afterwards we had a tour in their cellars. Down the stairs you feel how the temperature drops, and how the smell of champagne captivates your nose. In the first room you’re met by several stainless steel tanks, where the primary fermentation takes place. Further on you will find the halls containing hundreds of thousands bottles filled with wine. Once a blend has been created, a mixture of still wine, sugar and yeast will be added to the blended wine. This mixture is known as the “liqueur de triage”. The wine is then bottled with a crown cap and left to begin a secondary fermentation in the bottle. Here, active yeast will begin consuming the available sugar, resulting in the anaerobic production of alcohol within this sealed bottle. A by-product of this fermentation is carbon dioxide. At the end of the tour we came back overground and saw the machinery for the re-corking of the champagne. After a cork is inserted, a protective wire cap is placed over the bottle to help secure the cork and bottle. The wine is then shaken vigorously, in order to help integrate the wine with the liqueur d’expedition. And finally we had to taste the champagne of Henri Goutorbe in their delightful front-yard. No doubt the champagne was great, but it tasted even better because of a tremendous atmosphere and feeling of euphoria. It sure is a special feeling enjoying a champagne where it’s produced.
Visiting Henri Goutorbe was a fantastic experience, because you really could sense the passion through the authentic cellars. And getting insight into the steps of production and seeing it with your own eyes are exceptional. Every member of the house were friendly and accommodating, which made you feel welcome. This house is really worth visiting again. I hope you have become smarter and may feel for a visit at Henri Goutorbe or another champagne house of your desire. Because this is an experience every champagne connoisseur should have in life.
Champagne Connoisseurs 