Thiénot celebrates 40th anniversary at new Le 3 venue
The Thiénot family welcomed clients from around the world last week in a two-day celebration of the house’s 40th anniversary and the completion of their new, substantial property at Le 3 in the centre of Reims, with the opening of their roof top Champagne bar and 12 boutique hotel rooms.
Some guests who arrived by specially chartered train, complete with Thiénot champagne bar on board, were, in a nice touch, met on the platform at the Gard de l’Est station in Paris by Garance and Stanislas Thiénot, the next generation of the family that took over running the business from their father Alain back in 2013. Others flew in from as far afield as Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Australia and the USA.
At the first night party at Le 3, guests, many of whom have been selling Thiénot wines since the 80s and early 90s, were encouraged to explore the expansive building to find different cuvées from the house, mainly served in magnum, matched with canapés and small plates created in front of you by various different chefs tucked into different corners of the space.
Gardens and vinothèque
On the expansive ground floor set around a central garden atrium the walls were lined with artworks created for the labels, detailed models of the complex Le 3 construction and of the family vineyards, historic interactive exhibits plus the vinothèque with wines dating back to the very first 1985 vintage.
Reached by sweeping, chalky white, spiral staircases the spaces above included the rooftop open air terrace from which Reims Cathedral can be seen and the Champagne Bar that should prove a great, luxury addition to the Reims reinvigorated tourist scene. The large, beautifully restored cellars included further dazzling art installations.
Stanislas along with his sister Garance and his parents Anne and Alain who started the house back in 1985, welcomed the guests saying he was “proud to inaugurate the place that perfectly embraces our spirit. It’s a story of family and loyalty and marks the beginning of a new chapter for the house.”
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Thanking his father Alain specifically he said: “It took courage to create a house in the 1980s [when Champagne was going through a difficult period of change] and in 1992 a new winery that was far ahead of its time.” He thanked their many partners and clients present from around the world for “40 years of trust”.
A five vintage vertical
On Thursday, before a tour that took in Alain’s first vineyard purchase in the grand cru of Aÿ, Stanislas conducted a masterclass looking at a vertical of five significant vintages their first prestige wine Cuvée Alain Thiénot starting with the original 1985 vintage, where the Pinot Noir was almost entirely sourced from this Aÿ vineyard, through 1988, 1995, 2002, 2008 and ending with the recently launched 2012.
For lunch we moved two doors along Rue du Marc to two, long, candlelit tables in the chapel-like centre of the historic l’Hotel Le Vergeur whose origins date back to the 13th Century for a gastronomic lunch created by Michelin starred chef Philippe Mille. After an aperitif of La Vigne aux Gamins 2015 in magnum, Thiénot’s single vineyard cuvée from another early vineyard purchase by Alain in the grand cru of Avize, a dish of langoustines designed to look like a stained glass window, to cleverly match the surroundings, was accompanied with the fourth wine created by the partnership between Thiénot and Penfolds (they have made this every year since 2012), a Blanc de Noirs 2015 in magnum. (Ed: I have a picture of the dish to send)
Impérial of Penfolds Grange
This and the main course dish of veal with crémeux de cèpes matched with an Impérial of Penfolds Grange 2020 was in part to celebrate the presence of Penfolds head winemaker since 2002, Peter Gago, with whom Stanislas and Thiénot’s cellar master Nicolas Uriel, work to produce both the vintaged Penfolds/Thiénot Blanc de Noirs and a non-vintage cuvée that Penfolds distributes in the UK and other markets. Interestingly Gago started his role at Penfolds back in 1989 as their sparkling wine maker, and, says Stanislas, he is a passionate fan of Champagne who is very involved in the winemaking, coming over each year to make the blends with the Thiénot team.
As part of the 40th anniversary celebrations Thiénot have also launched what they call their ‘Immersion Collection’, a trilogy from the Vinothèque of vintage Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru cuvées from three consecutive vintages 2015, 2016 and 2017 they characterise respectively as: ‘The Warmth of Balance’, ‘The Sparkle of the Unexpected’ and ‘The Expression of Delicacy’. Magnums of the 2015 reveal the refreshing fruit forward style of the house with citrus notes mingling with hazelnut and coffee. All three are available in the UK through their own distributor Champagnes & Châteaux.
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