Perpetual Reserve 90-21
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2040
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted poultry, creamy mushroom risotto, aged Comté cheese
✨ Technical Specifications
Henri Giraud's Perpetual Reserve 90-21 represents a masterclass in the art of solera-style aging in Champagne. This cuvée is built upon a perpetual reserve initiated in 1990, capturing over three decades of successive vintages. Rooted in the Grand Cru terroir of Aÿ, celebrated since the times of King Henri IV who famously claimed the title of 'Lord of Aÿ,' this wine showcases the intense, vinous character of Pinot Noir balanced by the elegance of Chardonnay. Vinified using Giraud's signature oak barrels crafted from the nearby Argonne Forest, the wine undergoes a slow maturation that imparts a rich, creamy texture, deep complexity, and a vibrant mineral spine. It is a profound liquid archive of the estate's modern history, blending the freshness of the 2021 harvest with the deep, oxidized complexity of older reserve wines.
🍾 About the Producer
Rooted in the historic Grand Cru village of Aÿ since 1625, Champagne Henri Giraud represents a benchmark in vinous, artisanal Champagne production. Stewarded by 12th-generation proprietor Claude Giraud alongside cellar master and son-in-law Sébastien Le Golvet, the house is renowned for championing Pinot Noir cultivated on deep, south-facing belemnite chalk slopes. Henri Giraud is celebrated for reviving the historical practice of fermenting and maturing base wines exclusively in new and seasoned casks coopered from local Argonne Forest oak, as well as sandstone and terracotta amphorae, entirely eliminating stainless steel. Viticulture adheres to rigorous sustainable standards, eschewing pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides under a certified zero-residue protocol. The estate produces richly textured, vinous champagnes defined by intense chalky minerality, structural depth, and micro-oxygenated nuance. Flagship cuvées include the prestigious vintage oak-aged Argonne, the perpetual reserve multi-vintage Fût de Chêne MV series, and the PR Perpetual Reserve bottlings.
🍇 Grapes
Pinot Noir 80%, Chardonnay 20%
🍷 ABV
12