Sparkling Wines Champagne Pierre Gerbais - Les Grandes Cotes

Pierre Gerbais’s Champagne “Cuvée Les Grandes Côtes” presents itself as a non-vintage brut sparkling wine, expressing the refined and vibrant style of Champagne. While the exact varietal composition is not specified, this producer is well known for working with the three classic Champagne grapes — Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier — with a distinct emphasis on Pinot Noir from the Côte des Bar. The wine typically spends time on the lees, developing complexity and characteristic notes of brioche, citrus zest, orchard fruit, and white flowers, underpinned by a persistent, elegant effervescence. The “brut” designation suggests the wine is dry, maintaining a crisp freshness that balances beautifully with its rounded fruit and subtle autolytic character.

Champagne itself is a world-renowned wine region in north-eastern France, celebrated for its chalky soils and cool continental climate. The alternating slopes and gentle hillsides, particularly in the Côte des Bar subregion where Pierre Gerbais is based, provide ideal conditions for grape ripening while retaining the acidity vital to great sparkling wines. The region’s winemaking traditions stretch back centuries, with an enduring emphasis on precision, long maturation, and blending across vintages and plots to achieve the signature complexity and consistency that defines Champagne.

For food pairing, this lively Champagne brut is immensely versatile. Its finesse and freshness make it an excellent companion to seafood, such as oysters, scallops, or sashimi. It will also pair beautifully with classic regional specialities like gougères (cheese choux pastries) or a simple tarte flambée. Lighter poultry dishes and delicately spiced Asian cuisine can also be enhanced by the wine’s structure and precision.

For optimal enjoyment, serve this Champagne well chilled, ideally between 8 and 10°C. Allow the bottle to rest upright in an ice bucket for around 20 minutes before pouring, which will best reveal its nuances and effervescence. A slender flute or tulip-shaped glass will enhance both its aromatic expression and delicate mousse.