Wine Spectator, Robert Parker….His name is everywhere and stands for high quality standards in Handmade Vintage sparkling wines. And on 20 April 2015, spanish winemaker Pepe Raventós will join Champagne Henri Giraud’s Atelier N°5 “Pursuing Excellence”. The Atelier will be devoted to tasting the Argonne 2014 ‘vin clairs’ of Champagne Henri Giraud and to celebrating the great Handmade Vintage Sparkling wines including Gusbourne (England) and Ca’ del Bosco (Italy), for a record attendance edition with close to 250 experts coming from more than 20 countries.
Pepe Raventós gained experience in making terroir wines working alongside Didier Daguenau on Pouilly Fumé, Olivier Lamy at Saint Aubin, Harald Hexamer in the Nahe region and Phillippe Blanc in Alsace. He is always eager to pursue excellence in every detail of his winery. His goal is to make his grandfather’s dream come true: to make Raventós i Blanc a wine-growing brand of international standing. Pepe Raventós: “With the creation of its new denomination Conca del Riu, Raventos i Blanc revindicates the immense potential of its terroir for sparkling wines produced in one of the world’s most historical valleys for viticulture.”
In 2012 Pepe Raventós decided to leave the DO Cava to start a new path: CONCA DEL RIU ANOIA. Conca del riu Anoia, the name of a small georaphical area, to help to better understand and convey their viticultural traditions, the strength of their land, their unique grape varieties and the characteristics of their soils: in short, the way they make sparkling wines. Pepe Raventós believes that there is an opportunity for honest wines resulting from a single estate, a specific climate, native grape varieties and rigorous, well-defined and respectful from viticulture.
Claude Giraud, CEO Champagne Henri Giraud: “This Atelier N°5 will bring together great sparkling wines from France and around the world in Champagne to open our horizons to the modern strategy for Champagne. These Handmade Vintage Sparkling wines come from sustainable, organic or natural agriculture, and above and beyond that, they are remarkable for the passion, energy and intelligence that they communicate and the winemakers’ commitment to expressing their terroir and their culture. That is where excellence lies, in these shared values that unite great wines from around the world and are the only true criteria for the 21st century.”
A time for sharing and reflecting, Atelier N°5 is yet another reminder of Champagne Henri Giraud’s commitment to supporting the CIVC (Champagne Committee) initiative “Champagne 2030, a Return to Excellence.” The morning of 20 April will include many highlights such as a tasting of Argonne 2014 ‘vin clairs’ to better appreciate the Terroirs d’Argonne effect on wines. Each year, this tasting strengthens the idea of a forest terroir, adds a new dimension to the traceability of cask oak and opens up new fields in which to experiment and progress. Another highlight of this edition will be the recognition of men and women who are passionate about their terroir, who invest all their energy into the quest for Excellence. Coming from various parts of the world, the creators of handmade vintage sparkling wines will explain their vision of Excellence at a tasting of their emblematic wine.
