The three most recent offerings from Philipponnat’s famed Clos des Goisses monopole show very different sides of a special vineyard, says Essi Avellan MW.
For a keenly awaited first sample of Champagne Philipponnat’s upcoming releases, we gathered for a tasting and omakase dinner at chef Yasuhiro Ochiai’s Maru in London’s Mayfair. Every year, Philipponnat disgorges the different Clos des Goisses cuvées in March and previews them in September before releasing in January the following year. This time, we were in for a discovery of Clos des Goisses 2014, Les Cintres 2012, and Clos des Goisses LV 1998.
Clos des Goisses is a pioneering single-vineyard Champagne that—according to its current philosophy—is now produced every vintage. A mere 12 vintages have been missed since Philipponnat first created the cuvée in 1935, and Charles Philipponnat has made sure that none was skipped since he took over the running of the house in 2000. The steep vineyard overlooking the Marne canal in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ encompasses 5.83ha (14.4 acres) today, with two thirds planted to Pinot Noir and one third to Chardonnay. The sun-kissed, south-facing site on pure chalk terrain guarantees the success of Clos des Goisses even in the most challenging vintages. But an equally big role is granted to the rigorous selection and wide-ranging blending enabled by the vast size of the vineyard.
“We exclude everything that is not perfect from the Clos des Goisses blend. Also, the crop from the younger vines is not included, nor are the inferior taille parts of
This Article was originally published on World of Fine Wine
