Marianne Gamet is a member of a new, young generation of growers, bringing fresh energy and perspective to her families estate in the Vallée de la Marne, starting in 2018. Today, Marianne is making distinctive and delicious Champagnes from eight hectares. The vineyards are split between three villages: Mardeuil on the Damery, and Fleury la Riviére. Gamet’s wines have clear imprint of place as well as an easy drinkability. We are incredibly pleased to introduce the Champagnes of Gamet as the exclusive National Importer of this excellent estate.
A STORY OF TWO FAMILIES
Just after World War I, many small growers decided to begin their own companies in order to bottle their own Champagnes. Victoire Garnier, “Mardouillate” and Berthe Heucq, “Fleurysienne”, were two such women; this is the story of two families, from the right and left bank of the Marne, coming together.
The Garnier family were originally farmers, who expanded into tending vines in Mardeuil, located on the left bank of the Marne, bottling just 800 bottles of Champagne each year. In the 1950s, François Gamet, grandson of Victoire Garnier, came back to the estate and began to expand, planting more land and bottling more champagne.
Across the Marne, while François Gamet was expanding in Mardeuil, Berthe Heucq’s grandson Robert was growing his family’s holdings in Fleury-la-Rivière, bottling his own wines and tending vines on the right bank of the Marne. In 1993, Fabienne Heucq, Robert’s daughter, and Philippe, the son of François Gamet, met and fell in love, and since 2018, the estate has been led by their daughter Marianne – the fourth generation of this Domaine.
THE DOMAINE TODAY
Champagne Gamet is a grower producer, with eight hectares of vineyards located in three villages – Mardeuil on the left bank and Fleury-la-Rivière and Damery on the right bank. Marianne’s brother, Jean-François, a trained enologist currently working in Bordeaux, travels back home to assist his sister and parents with harvest, blending, and bottling, but the estate is run by Marianne.
“The philosophy of François, my grandfather, was the philosophy of the recoltant manipulant, and this has been the philosophy from that time,” says Marianne. “We are still and for always recoltant manipulant. For us, this gives us the ability to control the entire production from A to Z. from the vineyard to the vinification to the cellar”
This corner of Champagne where the winery is located is called the Côte sud d’Epernay and encircles Epernay. Here, all three major grape varieties thrive on different soils. The subsoil is chalk, with various depths of clay, marl, and silex. The vineyards in each of these three villages face different directions, which give different characteristics to the wines even though they are less than 8km away from each other.
THE WINES
Today, Marianne focuses on the distinctive differences between the Rive Gauche, the left bank, and the Rive Doite, the right bank, splitting the majority of the wines into two different synonymous cuvees. The Rive Gauche is one-third each of all three varieties, coming exclusively from Mardeuil. Here there is more clay in the soil and the vineyards are north-facing, which gives the wine, which is raised entirely in stainless steel, a very different texture.
The Rive Droite is a blend of holdings in Fleury-la-Rivière and Damery that have proven to work well together. Damery is a village closer to the river that has more marl in the soil, while Fleury-la-Rivière has some sand and clay over limestone, and is surrounded by forest. The holdings here on the right bank are entirely Meunier and Pinot Noir and the wine shows the warmth of Fleury (which faces south, southeast, and southwest), with the mineral backbone of limestone. Like the Rive Gauche, this is done entirely in stainless steel, offering a very interesting study on these two sides of the river.
Caractères is a wine that was started by Marianne’s father Philippe in 1999. It is a reserve prepetuelle, vinified and aged in used oak barrels, a blend predominantly of Meunier from all three villages. While the wine is not oak-driven, it is the most different of the wines in the range from Gamet and with a completely different profile, blending reserve wine with fresh wine before an extended 40-month en tirage aging.
Two Rosés are produced at the house, and both are excellent. The NV Rosé is a Rosé de assemblage, which is essentially a blend of the Rive Droite with an addition of Meunier vinified as red wine and added to the cuvee. The Rosé is kept on the lees for a shorter period (just under two years as opposed to over three), accenting the fresh and fruit vibrancy of young Champagne. The Rosé de Saignée is entirely from Meunier is always from a single vintage, harvested from an old vine plot in Fleury-la-Rivière. The wine is produced only in vintages that the family feel are right for a full day to day-and-a-half maceration.
In addition to tending grape vines, Marianne and her brother also produce excellent ciders from eight different old apple varieties. The production remains very small but will expand slightly in the future, with several single plot ciders in addition to the delicious Champagnes in the range.
“The idea is to continue working on the Champagne side, as something artisanal, to keep the philosophy of recoltant manipulant, improving techniques in vinification and the cellar, but we also continue to develop on the farm side, since we were farmers from the beginning,” says Marianne. “We continue on this side with cider, honey, and cereals. The idea is to become closer with nature and change to do more in the vineyards to protect the environment and the expression of terroir.”
The Wines:
Rive Gauche is a blend of Mardeuil terroirs, a cru where 1/3 of their holdings are located. Clay-limestone terroirs, rich in minerals where the three Champagne grape varieties are present. Meunier, king of the Valley, Pinot Noir, as well as Chardonnay.
This cuvée, elegant and of great finesse, is introduced by notes of peach, quince, roasted almond, acacia flowers and hawthorn. A fruity and floral cuvée offering an intense clay minerality, accompanied by aromas of fleshy fruits.
cépage 33% Meunier, 33% Pinot noir, 33% Chardonnay
village/vyd Mardeuil – clay and limestone
élevage Stainless steel
Gamet ‘Rive Droite’ Blanc des Noirs Brut
Rive Droite is a blend of the terroirs of Damery and Fleury-la-Rivière. Damery is located on the edge of the marl, while Fleury-la-Rivière is located at the bottom of the valley, half-surrounded by the forest. Very sunny area, these terroirs appeal to Meunier & Pinot Noir! The soils are clay-limestone, sandy and marly. Soils of great diversity, where millions of years ago our vines were just a tropical sea, rich in biodiversity. Today, shells and other fossils litter the soils of clayey-sandy areas, offering great Champagne wines and an intense saline content!
A fresh, fruity Champagne, supported by the roundness of Meunier and a smooth chew on the palate
cépage 60% Meunier, 40% Pinot noir
village/vyd Fleury-la-Rivière & Mardeuil– clay and limestone with marl
élevage Stainless steel
sur latte 24-36 months
Gamet ‘Caractères Réserve Perpetuelle’ Extra Brut
“Characters”, the memories of the Gamet Family. Since 1999, Philippe Gamet has kept his reserve wines on the principle of a Solera method. Wines vinified and aged in oak barrels, it is a blend of the two shores, with a majority of Meunier, the king of the Valley grape variety!
The older wines offer a fine note of oxidation in the mouth, followed by a long freshness in the mouth brought by the wines of the year. Notes of yellow fruit, citrus; the work carried out in the wood brings concentration and reinforces the tension of the wine.
cépage 80% Meunier, 15% Pinot noir, 5% Chardonnay
village/vyd Fleury-la-Rivière & Mardeuil– clay and limestone with marl
élevage 10 months in used barrels
sur latte 45 months
A rosé blend of black grapes only, blended with red Meunier Coteaux-Champenois, homemade! A fruity and full-bodied wine, orchestrated by a clay minerality that gives volume on the palate. The whole is fresh and delicious! A festive rosé, for all the good times.
cépage 60% Meunier, 40% Pinot noir
village/vyd Mardeuil, Fleury-la-Riviere, Damery – limestone and sandy clay
élevage Stainless steel
En Tirage: 25 months
The Rosé de Saignée is a rosé produced by maceration of black grapes; from 24 to 36 hours, the grape juice flows by gravity, without pressing and without filtration; in contact with the skin of the grapes, the juice obtains a ruby color and tannic aromas.
Monovarietal, parcel-based and vintage, the Rosé de Saignée is only produced during the best years in Champagne, because the bleeding process requires an excellent sanitary state of the grapes, especially the Meuniers!
cépage 100% Meunier
village/vyd Fleury-la-Riviere – sandy clay and limestone
élevage Stainless steel
En Tirage: 40 months
We are delighted to represent Marianne Gamet and her family estate and eager to share these new and exceptional wines with you.
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