Winemaker Notes
The A Mi-Chemin cuvée reflects the Girard-Bonnet estate, with 50% Le Mesnil sur Oger representing the Girard family and 50% Oger as an expression of the Bonnet family. In addition, this cuvée is also our vision of Côte des Blancs champagne, with great minerality and a sharp but not aggressive acidity, sublimated by the aromas of white flowers.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The NV Champagne Blanc de Blancs A Mi-Chemin Extra Brut is equal parts 2018 and 2019. It lifts with floral notes of honeysuckle, lime blossom, a hint of tropical fruit, and wet stone. The palate is dry and saline, with a well-balanced and elegant mousse. It is pithy through the mid-palate with chalk and has a clean and deceptively long finish. This refreshing wine would make for a wonderful aperitif or can be paired at the table with delicate flavors.
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Vinous
The NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs A Mi-Chemin is fabulous. Bright, energetic and wonderfully finessed, the A Mi-Chemin impresses with its fine overall balance. Crushed rocks, spice, dried flowers, herbs and citrus oil infuse the A Mi-Chemin with tons of nuance as well as complexity. I admire the transparent energy and precision here. Best of all, this should be a terrific value.
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Wine Spectator
An appealing, harmonious Champagne, with pretty apple blossom and graphite aromas accenting flavors of ripe white cherry and grainy yellow pear, almond skin and biscuit, preserved lemon and fleur se sel. Lightly mouthwatering, with a fine, lively bead. Disgorged March 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From one of Mesnil's most promising young winegrowers, Girard-Bonnet’s NV Blanc de Blancs A Mi-Chemin is a blend of nine lieux-dits scattered around Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger. Based on the 2021 vintage and complemented by 30% reserve wines from 2018 to 2020, it was matured on the lees in 350- and 500-liter barrels and steel, in nearly equal parts, and disgorged in February 2024 with two grams per liter dosage. Slightly high-toned, it unfurls from the glass with scents of apple peel, oyster shell and citrus fruit. It’s a wine with a taut profile, but not without flesh on its bones.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’