Champagne L'Audace 2016 - Pierre Gerbais

Pierre Gerbais

Champagne from the Côte des Bar

The Gerbais family has been working in the vineyards since the early 19th century, in Celles-sur-Ource, on the Côte des Bar (department of Aude). Back then, polyculture was the norm and they used to sell all the grapes they harvested to local trading houses. Wine production only really began in the 1930's, when André Gerbais and his brother Ulysse got together and founded their own little champagne house. After World War II was over, Pierre Gerbais, André's son, inherited the entire estate and renamed it.

He had a very humble start, with only 3 hectares of vineyard, but acquired more parcels along the years. Unlike his pairs, who were looking for southern sun exposure to plant their Pinot Noir grapevines, Pierre Gerbais chose the colder, northern climate. His son Pascal came to help in the 1980's. He was the one who applied for the Ampelos label in 1996, a label promoting sustainable viticulture and respect of the environment. This was the first step on a path towards non-interventionism in the vineyard, as a way to let the grapes and the terroirs express themselves freely.

Then, in 2009, Pierre's grandson Aurélien Gerbais (the 8th generation of Gerbais to come work in the family estate) became the new member of the team. Aurélien studied at the Lycée Viticole de Beaune (in Burgundy) with Olivier Lamy, with whom he often discussed winemaking techniques. Each of the cuvées made by Aurélien have a very simple goal: to let a specific grape variety shine (Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay). He helped the estate grow tremendously: 18 hectares as of now, with 20 distinct parcels.

On this limestone soil terroir, like the one you can find in Sancerre, Aurélien cultivates Pinot Blanc grapes on top of the two other classic varieties available in the region, which makes him quite the oddity in Celles-sur-Ource (that Pinot variety represents less than 1% of the total vine stock). Aurélien is also thinking more and more about switching to biodynamics. Each year, the House Pierre Gerbais produces up to 160,000 bottles of champagne.

Discover the champagne made by Pierre Gerbais.