Philipponnat Clos de Goisses Juste Rosé: Unusual charm

Philipponnat is in Mareuil-sur-Ay, a village that more than anything a road dotted with wineries that runs parallel to the Marne River. It epitomizes the beauty of Champagne, a parade of gates behind which are hidden the wine treasures of the Maisons that are often lovely buildings full of wine-related mysteries which can include a labyrinth of underground cellars, like the 18th century one where Philipponnat Champagnes sit on the lees in the dark.

Among the Maison’s more esteemed Cuvée is undoubtedly Clos de Goisses, a wine that is born from an unusual vineyard that sits on the top of a hill which overlooks the Vallée de la Marne. ‘Les Goisses” is the name of the area the parcel is in, one that is very difficult to work. Its highpoint is Monte de Mareuil from where one can appreciate the significant pitch of the ordered rows of vines that compose this exceptional vineyard, 5.5 hectares that in the history of Champagne have always represented a paradigm of quality. The Philipponnat family acquired this clos, the walls of which were built in 1887, in 1935 and after consolidating its makeup and drainage they were able to pinpoint some 20 different plots that today allows them to harvest the grapes at different times. This because from the highest part of the vineyard to the lowest one there are sufficient temperature variations that means the grapes reach perfect maturity at different periods even if it is only a matter of days. The vineyard is for the most part cultivated with Pinot Noir with about a third Chardonnay and the older vines are gradually being replaced with select clones to maintain an average age of 30 years. The older vines are those that produce the grapes that give complexity to the prestigious cuvée.

Recently, alongside the traditional Clos de Goisses white, the Maison has been producing Juste Rosé, which like Philipponnat’s showcase wines is fermented 50% in small oak barrels and ages for around ten years on the lees. This is a very particular rosé that has an extremely faint color, almost an oeil de perdrix (literally partridge eye), and it is neither a saignée rosé nor a blended rosé but a unique Champagne that gets its color from the slight extraction obtained during pressing. This is undoubtedly an unusual champagne that must be tried.

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