We were delighted to welcome Stanislas Thiénot, son of the founder Alain Thiénot, to launch Champagne Thiénot in Hong Kong.

The highlight of the week was our tasting at Opera Gallery in Central, where guests were able to meet Stan in person and tasted five of the Thiénot wines. Stan also held several masterclasses, to offer a deeper understanding of Champagne blending by tasting the five Thiénot base wines which went into its Brut non-vintage.

It is no secret that I have a soft spot for small, family run vineyards and Champagne Thiénot is certainly one of them.  After 20 years as a grape broker in Champagne, Alain Thiénot took the plunge and established his own Champagne house. Twenty years in the business gave Alain expert knowledge of the vineyards and growers, an important asset when producing Champagne. Being a newcomer, Alain could establish his own, unique brand with distinctive flavours. Champagne Thiénot now owns 27 hectares of vines and is producing nearly 1,000,000 bottles of wine per year. This is no mean feat in less than 30 years!

Thiénot Champagnes are refined, have a lovely mousse, and have a beautiful roundness, elegance and a long finish. Their complexity makes these wines very food-friendly. Although I’d normally only have one or two glasses of Champagne at the start of the evening, last week I discovered I was quite happy to be sipping it all night.  We had a variety of events where the Champagnes were paired with both Eastern and Western cuisine. It was interesting to see how well the wines did all through dinner with different dishes. Not surprisingly, they held up well to seafood, but surprisingly but not unexpectedly, matches with a creamy risotto, chicken and cured meats were just wonderful.

I must admit I was rather smitten once I learnt the names of their special cuvées. Father Alain Thiénot has named two cuvées after his children Stanislas and Garance while its premium label is name La Vigne aux Gamins, translates as ‘the Vines of the Kids’, which I find very sweet. Stanislas is in fact now the General Manager while Garance is the Director of Marketing.

This warmth and love for Champagne are projected and expressed in the wines themselves, making this family team a force to be reckoned with. If you, like me, are looking for something a little different but with plenty of character, Champagne Thiénot is definitely worth a try.