Basic Info

Founded by the Chiquet brothers in 1746 and continuing strong to this day. I think if you asked me to sum up Chiquet’s wines in one pithy phrase, I’d have to say either “delicious and articulate” or “articulate and delicious” depending on which you preferred. (Maybe “salacious and ticklish,” in a pinch . . .) I myself tend to peg Nicolas Chiquet’s wines as “innately lovable” and so it always surprises me to rediscover just how focused and precise they are, as if the prose of E.B. White were rendered in the form of Champagne. They taste effortless, tactful, yet attractive. What I’m tasting are wines of pure terroir. They are, in effect, anti-varietal. Even the celebrated Aÿ Chardonnay isn’t so much a variant on Chardonnay as it is another dialect of Aÿ. Chiquets are both the chalkiest and most succulent of all my Champagnes. This is a 22-hectare estate, which means we can get some wine to sell! Which is lucky for us, because these are sensually gorgeous, hedonistic wines that everyone can cozy up to. This is what Moet Chandon should taste like. Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay. This is the “IT” of grower champagnes! In 1919, the Chicquet brothers were the very first winemakers in Champagne to take the initiative, bold at the time, to keep their grapes, turn them into Champagne and sell their own wine. Yes, gang; this is the big-bang of farmer fizz.