Philipponnat Champagne's Clos des Goisses

Author: Paige Donner
Published: July 28, 2012 at 10:12 pm

Philipponnat Champagne Clos des Goisses Very few families, even in France’s historic Champagne region, can date their ancestral roots in the region as far back as 500 years. The family of Philipponnat, namesake of the champagne, is one of these rarities. Not only are they still in the region where their ancestors settled in 1522, they are still in the small village of Mareuil-sur-Ay. It’s also how they came up with their prestige cuvées name “1522.” A few vinification traditions this house respects that have great bearing on their champagnes:

Philipponnat uses only the first press juice for vinification
Moderate dosage
Mostly Pinot Noir grapes during blending
Barrel-fermented wines (which is not the total amount of the must) do not undergo malolactic fermentation
Slightly delayed harvests for their Pinot Noir grapes to achieve optimal maturity

Balance is key. Balance of freshness and acidity are the hallmarks of the house, headed today by Charles Philipponnat who is aided by cellar master Thierry Garnier and vineyard manager Claude Laurent. As many of the best winemakers will tell you, their belief, and practice, is that good oenology means as little manipulation as possible. So their vinification methods are as natural as they can maintain them. During fermentation they keep temperatures “deliberately low.” For the oak barrels they do use, mostly so that specifically designated juice can be in contact with oxygen when aging, they source from Burgundy and choose barrels which are usually 1-2 years old.

18th c. Cellars Philipponnat photo by Paige Donner Their historic 18th c. cellars, upon which the fairly recent (2002) winery was built in Mareuil- sur-Ay so as to be closer to their crown jewel vineyard, the Clos des Goisses, are actually the historic cellars of the former Château de Mareuil. This means that during harvest, the prime Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes growing in the 5 ½ ha. Clos des Goisses and Le Léon reach the Philipponnat pressoirs within hours and after very little - in some cases less than a kilometer - of transport. Walking past the Clos, you can actually see, from a cutout of the steep hillside, the depth of the famous chalky soils. Champagne Philipponnat