Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Cuvée Rosé de Blancs 1er Cru Brut 1.5L MAGNUM NV

Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Cuvée Rosé de Blancs 1er Cru Brut is a rosé built on Chardonnay, an unusual approach from a house that otherwise makes only blanc de blancs.

Pierre Gimonnet & Fils is based at Cuis in the Cote des Blancs, the strip of chalk south of Epernay that is Champagne's heartland for Chardonnay, and the family has grown vines there for generations. Its holdings run across Cuis, whose north facing slopes hold acidity, and the grand cru villages of Cramant, Chouilly and Oger, with a high proportion of old vines. The house style is deliberate: whole bunch pressing, fermentation in stainless steel with no oak, malolactic completed and modest dosage, so that the chalk rather than the cellar does the talking. The name is precise: the base is Chardonnay from the family's own parcels, coloured by a small addition of still red Pinot Noir, so the wine keeps the shape of a blanc de blancs rather than that of a conventional rosé.

Serve at around 10 degrees in a white wine glass, with cured salmon, prawns, charcuterie or summer berries.