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The Champagne house Philipponnat has been established for just over a century. However, the family has been cultivating grapes in Champagne for many hundreds of years. Today, Charles Philipponnat leads the house. The foundation of its success lies in the use of top-quality grapes and a clear focus on terroir and craftsmanship. Although the vintage wines have gained further depth through ageing in oak barrels, it is really the Clos des Goisses that fascinates true connoisseurs. The Clos des Goisses is a 5.5-hectare walled vineyard in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, descending steeply southwards towards the Marne River. Together with Clos du Mesnil and Côte aux Enfants in Aÿ, it is considered one of Champagne’s finest sites. Clos des Goisses is known as the warmest vineyard in the region, yet its pure chalk soils provide freshness, minerality, and exceptional finesse. The wine has immense ageing potential and evolves beautifully over many years.
Champagne Philipponnat is a house steeped in tradition, with roots reaching back to the 16th century. The family was based in Aÿ for generations and even supplied wine to the court of Louis XIV. In 1910, the Champagne house Philipponnat was founded, establishing its cellars in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, 20 metres deep in the chalk. Since 1997, the house has been part of the Lanson-BCC Group but continues to be directed by Charles Philipponnat as Managing Director.
Philipponnat owns around 20 hectares of vineyards, mostly in Grand Cru and Premier Cru villages such as Aÿ, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Avenay, and Mutigny. The heart of the estate is the south-facing Clos des Goisses, one of the oldest monopole vineyards in Champagne. The slope is as steep as 45 degrees, made up of pure chalk and benefiting from a particularly warm microclimate. The vineyards are cultivated sustainably and almost entirely by hand; in the finest plots, horses are still used for ploughing in the traditional way.
The style of Philipponnat is powerful, structured, and driven by Pinot Noir. Only the first pressing of the must is used. A portion of the base wines is aged in oak, and the house employs a “perpetual reserve” system reminiscent of the Solera method, adding depth and consistency to the house style across vintages. The secondary fermentation takes place in bottle, with lees ageing for at least three years, and considerably longer for prestige cuvées. The dosage remains low (often Extra Brut) to express the terroir in the purest possible form. Back labels provide detailed information about the blend, dosage, and disgorgement date — a mark of the house’s transparency.
Clos des Goisses: This vintage Champagne is made exclusively from the exceptional monopole vineyard described above. The blend typically consists of 60–80% Pinot Noir and 20–40% Chardonnay. Clos des Goisses is vinified in oak barrels without malolactic fermentation. It is a demanding Champagne — youthful bottles show little fruit but display an oxidative, nutty character that evolves into a magnificent aromatic spectrum with age. The ageing potential is enormous. The cellars of Philipponnat hold superb old vintages, though today it is the 1979 that is considered ideal for drinking. The vintages 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013 represent the finest recent series of this great vineyard, while 2008 is more restrained and mineral, not quite fulfilling the expectations of this powerful, concentrated Champagne, which can at times reach 13% alcohol.
Les Cintres: A micro-terroir cuvée made from old vines at the heart of Clos des Goisses, showing pronounced minerality and structure.
Clos des Goisses Juste Rosé:
This Champagne, ranked among the finest rosés of the region, bears no resemblance to the sweet, strawberry- and raspberry-driven styles of even renowned rosés such as Krug or Laurent-Perrier Alexandra. It is more akin to a sparkling Pinot Noir wine. The colour is a delicate pale pink with fine, persistent bubbles. Clos des Goisses Juste Rosé displays aromas of wild strawberries, citrus, and floral notes. It shows fewer yeasty tones than the white Clos des Goisses and appears even purer and more linear.
The rosé style in recent vintages is achieved through brief skin contact fermentation (saignée method), with about 18% of the Pinot Noir macerated on the skins. In earlier vintages, colour was obtained by adding a small amount of red wine from the same vineyard. The blend is usually composed of 68% Pinot Noir and 32% Chardonnay. It is entirely vinified in oak, without malolactic fermentation, and bottled with a low dosage of around 4.5 g/l. The wine ages for over eight years on the lees, and production is limited to a few thousand bottles per vintage.
Philipponnat is internationally recognised as one of Champagne’s leading Pinot Noir houses and a pioneer of transparent, terroir-driven winemaking. The Clos des Goisses is one of the region’s oldest monopole vineyards and produces some of France’s most age-worthy wines. The combination of traditional craftsmanship, precise vinification, and modern cellar technology has made Philipponnat a reference point for discerning Champagne enthusiasts.
At Alfavin, we look forward to finding more admirers of Clos des Goisses in order to expand our selection of this remarkable Champagne.