Purpose
Grande Charte is the first Born Organic house of Champagne ever created, which focuses exclusively on exceptional cuvées, available upon allocation. The cuvees are granted some of the highest scores by Masters of Wine and Sommeliers alike and have been described as some of the best vintages in the world.
Our house of Champagne benefits from the organic certificate since its inception.
Every decision, every contribution, is guided by the commitment to provide the rarest and utmost quality to each allocation beneficiary, through meticulous selection of sourcing, perfectionnist oenology, and thorough respect for nature: la signature de la Maison.
The Champagne bottles of the Grande Charte are produced in limited quantities, resulting from an uncompromising selection of the finest supplies. They are designated for a limited global circle of private clients as well as a select few chefs’ tables of exceptional quality to whom they are attributed in the form of a personal allocation.
Each bottle is hand-numbered by the cellar master, for individual allocation to each client.
History
2010: the project began with the identification of some exceptional winegrowers
2016: the founders created the formal entity of Grande Charte, dedicated to the final preparation before the release of the first cuvees
2018: Grande Charte received its approval as « Négociant Manipulant » in Champagne
2019: commercialization of the first cuvées of the Collection GC-5: 4 Cépages, 3 Cépages, Millésime 2004, Millésime 2007
2020: Collection GC-5 Rosé is released
2021: immerged cuvées Sea Of Iroise 769 were brought to the surface after two years of deap immersion in the Atlantic Ocean
2024: release of the Collection GC-4 first cuvees
The Grande Charte Champenoise 1,114
Founding act
In 1,114 the Grande Charte Champenoise was written by Bishop Guillaume de Champeaux.
It lists the possessions of the abbey of Saint-Pierre-aux-Monts, which included vineyards still within the current AOC Champagne area more than 900 years later.
Grande Charte House is a foundation rooted in the centuries-old history of the Champagne vineyards: the history of a land predestined for the exceptional.
Born Organic
Grande Charte has been the unique champagne house created in the 21st century benefiting from the organic certificate for all of its production.
The collection
The countdown
Cuvee after cuvee, within the Collection releases, Grande Charte unveils its origins. The GC-5 Collection unveils one of the first founders, and the following release will reveal the other founders including the close circle of super-skilled growers who offer their most precious production to form the House cuvees. In addition to the Collection, we are currently aging in our cellar a cuvee which will be offered exclusively en magnum. Until this exciting moment comes, we will continue the Collection of cuvées reflecting Grande Charte’s philosophy of excellence: GC-4, GC-3, GC-2, GC-1 until finally La Grande Charte itself and its founders’ circle is fully uncovered.
House Style
Overall the wines display great purity, linear precision and intensity coupled with delicacy and freshness. The delicate almost ethereal mousse is a signature of the House.
Only exceptional cuvees
Grande Charte is a young prodigious house in the arena of wine virtuosos. Its creations, true masterpieces, are the very expression of flamboyant perfection.
Through the uncompromising selection, season after season, of the best wines from the finest vintners, the cuvées infuse each bottle with a supreme quality essence that will captivate the most discerning palates.
Rare and flamboyant
The cuvées are the rarest in Champagne:
only their absolute quality matters, and quantities are sometimes as low as 440 bottles per release.
With a maturity that belies its youthful heritage, Grande Charte is not just a name, it’s the brazen revelation of prodigious talent to the world of wine.
Upon allocation
The flacons of Grande Charte are being produced in very small quantities, and reserved for private clients and a few exceptional chefs to whom they are sold in the form of a personal allocation.
Each flacon carries an individual number written by hand, personally assigned to each allocatee.
Each allocatee is chosen by another, more senior allocatee: thus, the allocations are obtained through sponsorship, and all the allocatees form a friendly circle connected by a common network of sponsorship and trust.
New prodigy
The first cuvees were released in 2018, making the house the first Champagne House created in the 21st century.
For Grande Charte, “Talent does not wait for the number of years”. Since the first cuvées were received they obtained some of the highest scores by Masters of Wine and Sommeliers alike and have been described as some of the best vintages in the world.
3 CÉPAGES
4,493 bottles
80 % Meunier, 15% Pinot Noir et 5% Chardonnay
Grape harvest 2011 (single harvest)
Bottled July 2012
Dosage 1.71 g/l
With 80% Pinot Meunier, this is a tribute to an underestimated grape variety of the Champagne region.
JancisRobinson.com. Score: 18/20
‘Lots of salinity, hard cheese and slate aromas – very much a gastronomic, mineral style. Excellent balance and fruit concentration, very lengthy and precise, with a lingering barley and yeast character. Bone dry and serious, with ample complexity and persistence.’
Andrea Pritzker MW Australia. Score: 95/100
‘Opens with a highly expressive bouquet of just-grilled brioche, freshly baked pastry, hazelnut and delicate notes of strawberry with a distinctive smoky mineral edge. Very fine and pure on the palate with a lovely integrated mousse and chalky mineral acidity providing backbone, line and length. Finishes long, carried by notes of toasted brioche and summer berries. A Champagne of great precision, intensity, freshness and delicacy.’
Kenny Ohashi MW Japan
‘This Champagne has medium intensity of aromas, earthy, reminiscent of slightly damp hay and grated honey apple, overall well-developed. There are also notes of lemon curd and dried fennel, providing plenty of complexity. Superbly fine mousse. Bone dry palate, integrated high acidity and a touch of phenolic bitterness lend a slightly chalky mouthfeel to the palate as a whole. Light bodied and tight, but still possesses expansive flavours.’
Debra Meiburg MW Hong-Kong
‘Collection Trois Cepages Lovely toasty richness, stylish fruit and delicate floral hints are followed by a fine, creamy mousse. Gentle acidity balances this classic composition. Excellent length with a finish reminiscent of roasted pecans.’
Anne Mc Hale MW England
‘A beautiful brioche and biscuit-scented aroma greets the nose straightaway, underpinned by delicate red fruits. On the palate the wine is clean, precise and elegant with an extremely delicate mousse, crystalline fruit flavors and a touch of minerality. With time in the glass, the wine develops multi-layered notes of nuts, honey, even liquorice and coffee. Alongside this aromatic development it remains bright, crisp and elegant.’
4 CÉPAGES
5,137 bottles
70 % Pinot Noir, 12 % Pinot Blanc, 9% Chardonnay, 9% Pinot Meunier
37 % Grape harvest 2011, 63% Grape harvest 2012
Bottled July 2013
Dosage 2.93 g/l
A rare grape variety, Pinot Blanc, enhances the blend of the three others.
JancisRobinson.com. Score: 18.5/20 (JR.com Grande Charte Favourite’s cuvée)
‘Sweeter, ripe apple fruit than their Trois Cépages. Less salinity, perhaps, but still plenty of complexity, with a more autolytic character giving brioche and toast to finish. Marmite and yeast to finish.’
Kenny Ohashi MW Japan. Score: 94/100
‘This Champagne also has a medium intensity of aromas, reminiscent of grated honey apple and certainly well-developed overall. However, it also has freshness, notes of kabosu (Japanese citrus fruit) and green grass, coexisting with sweet spice and a subtle flower petal hint, demonstrating wonderful complexity. Mousse is exquisitely fine. There is prominent acidity, expanding mid-palate due to extended lees contact, and persistent lingering citrussy notes contrasting with a transparent finish courtesy of its mineral character. A truly bone dry style.’
Andrea Pritzker MW Australia. Score: 96/100
‘Beautiful bouquet of freshly picked red forest berries, buttered toast, green apple and a hint of white flowers. Very fine and delicate at first with greater richness and supple texture emerging with time in the glass. The vibrant chalky acidity provides excellent precision and drive, allowing layers of flavour to unfold with the creamy, delicate mousse. Finishes long and persistent with notes of green apple and lemon citrus. A finely-honed Champagne offering impeccable balance and poise.’
Debra Meiburg MW Hong-Kong
‘A robust and flavorful Champagne with Pinot Blanc adding palate roundness and almond flavours to the cépage. Lemon brioche and apple biscuit hints emerge as the wine warms on the palate, while fresh acidity creates a harmonious and wellstructured wine with personality.’
Anne Mc Hale MW England
‘Really gorgeous nose of summer berries and flowers balanced by more savory undertones. The mousse is fine on the palate and the wine is superbly balanced. At first taste it is much tight-knit and well-structured, but with time in the glass the voluptuous texture emerges. The finish is long and savory. Pinot Blanc is allowed to be blended in Champagne; it is grown in extremely small quantities and it is very rare to be blended in a Champagne.’
2007 VINTAGE
3,000 bottles
80 % Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay
Grape harvest 2007
Bottled July 2008
Dosage 3.6 g/l
Kenny Ohashi MW Japan Grande Charte Favourite’s cuvée. Score: 97/100
‘On the one hand, the wine shows a developed spectrum of grated and dried honey apple, alongside dried lemon peel and a touch of cocoa. Extended lees contact provides a hint of sulphide, plus a grassy freshness that lends a rare plurality to the aroma as a whole. Mousse is understated, fine and soft. The matured flavour contains lingering high acidity carrying a touch of umami, tightening to a mineral, chalky and pristine finish. A truly bone dry style with sublime balance.’
Andrea Pritzker MW Australia Grande Charte Favourite’s cuvée. Score: 97/100
‘Gorgeous bouquet of grilled toast, freshly baked brioche and warm strawberries. Powerful and intense with great drive and vivacity balanced by the creamy yet delicate mousse. The palate is beautifully elongated and precise underpinned by green apple chalky acidity, leading to a long persistent finish. A complex Champagne offering an appealing juxtaposition of richness and power with delicacy and finesse.’
Debra Meiburg MW Hong-Kong
‘Subtle honey, beeswax and lemon curd aromas are followed by a fine, tightly structured mousse and crisp acidity. With a lovely golden hue, the wine is elegant and flavoursome, finishing dry with hints of apple crumble.’
Anne Mc Hale MW England
‘Very expressive and savory nose. Notes of mushroom and truffle mingle with mature red fruits, biscuit and brioche. The texture of the wine is rich and expansive, yet still balanced by that wonderful incisive acidity that makes this wine so food-friendly.’
2004 VINTAGE
3,000 bottles
80 % Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay
Grape harvest 2004
Bottled July 2005
Dosage 3.6 g/l
Kenny Ohashi MW Japan. Score: 96/100
‘The restrained aroma has a generous mineral component, not unlike wet stone, and shows its development through notes of dried honey apple skin and earthiness. It proclaims its youthfulness with aromas of fresh lemon and green grass, with a touch of vanilla and woody notes that build into a splendid complexity. Mousse is extremely fine and light. Fabulous breadth in the mid-palate from long lees contact time, integrated high acidity and a balance that brings softness to the overall flavour. Lingering mocha-like notes, bone-dry style.’
Andrea Pritzker MW Australia. Score: 96/100
‘Intriguing bouquet of truffle, mushroom, earth and baked strawberries unfolds to reveal a powerful palate with great intensity, richness, depth and drive. The creamy mousse is mouth-filling yet delicate. With time in the glass, savoury layers of truffle emerge. Shows excellent length and persistence, finishing with layers of savoury truffle and green apple. A highly complex Champagne offering depth and richness.’
Debra Meiburg MW Hong-Kong
‘Graceful aged complexity brings depth and richness to this wine. The intriguing palate is full-flavoured with excellent intensity and hints of toasted nuts, dried orange peel and spice. The wine’s impressive weight is elevated by a fine bead of acidity. Gentle red fruit hints on the palate enhance a round, soft, generous mousse leading to a fine, persistent finish.’
Anne Mc Hale MW England
‘Crystallized fruits, almost tropical notes of pineapple and lychee on the nose combined with a fragrant perfume. Floral notes and honey envelop the palate on first taste, along with that signature delicate mousse and vibrant acidity. With time in the glass, more savory depth and texture emerges. This wine still has a long life ahead of it.’
ROSÉ
440 bottles
56% Pinot Noir, 33% Meunier, 11% Chardonnay
Grape harvest 2012 (single harvest)
Bottled Sept 2013
Disgorgement Spring 2019
Dosage 8 g/l
Anne Mc Hale MW England
‘Five and a half years of ageing on the lees have imbued this classy Pinot Noir and Meunier-dominant rosé with a rich salmon pink hue. The long ageing is reflected on the palate with classic sourdough and biscuit notes, all intermingling with fresh peaches and cream, red berries and an almost Armagnac-like note of prunes and earth. All this is supported by the signature Grande Charte delicate yet persistent fine mousse which caresses the palate. A very gentle grip of tannins adds structure and underlines this wine’s gastronomic potential, although the softer dosage of 8g/l also allows this wine to be enjoyed as a delicious apéritif.’
Benoît Huguenin, Head Sommelier, Mirazur ***,
Best restaurant in the World 2019, World 50 Best,
‘One of the two best Rosé Champagne cuvee I have ever tasted.’
SEA OF IROISE 769
A small batch of four of our vintages (aged on lees between 5 and 13 years) was immersed for 769 days 60 meters deep off the coast of Ouessant Island, in the Atlantic Ocean.
Only 90 bottles of each cuvée …
Why age wines under the sea?
All comparative tastings carried out in the presence of renowned oenologists lead to the same results:
– More present, rounder aromas
– An even greater structuring of the wine’s frame
– A different robe
– Greater ageing potential (verified by an independent oenological laboratory)
Immersion at this depth is a technical and dangerous manoeuvre. It is carried out in summer, when a specific tide and good weather conditions guarantee the safety of people and wines.
The seabed, together with the depth and other relevant parameters, influences underwater ageing.
The perfect combination of immersed champagnes
– A year-round temperature of 10-14°C at -60m
– Complete darkness at this depth
– A pressure of -6 atm and a variation of 2 atm due to swell and tidal coefficients
– No electro-magnetic interference
Grandes Tables
A Grande Charte Embassy is a place – a Gastronomic Restaurant, Hotel or EcoResort – selected by Grande Charte’s founders, that reflects its philosophies of excellence and sustainability.
