Clos des Goisses 2011

The wine in this vintage

2011 was an early, complex vintage in Champagne, with a very warm spring, a cool, damp summer and an early harvest; many houses chose not to declare it. Clos des Goisses, with its privileged exposure, made it possible to craft a wine of character: yellow fruit, citrus, aromatic herbs, hazelnut and a spicy nuance, on a vinous, savoury palate with clear freshness. Jancis Robinson rated it 18.5/20. It is an original and less predictable version, already pleasurable and with room for further evolution, showing the clos at its most individual and expressive.

The producer · Philipponnat

The Philipponnat family has been rooted in Aÿ, in the heart of the Vallée de la Marne, for almost five centuries, with a winegrowing tradition documented since the sixteenth century. The house as it is known today was founded in 1910 by Auguste and Pierre Philipponnat, who in 1935 bought the vineyard that would make its name: Clos des Goisses in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. It is a walled vineyard of about five and a half hectares on a very steep, due-south chalk slope above the Marne canal, where light and reflected warmth allow exceptional ripening even in cool years. Made since 1935, Clos des Goisses is regarded as the first single-vineyard Champagne of the modern era. Today the house is led by Charles Philipponnat, a family descendant, who has sharpened its style: a dominance of Pinot Noir, partial vinification in wood, malolactic fermentation often avoided to preserve freshness, and long cellar ageing. The results are vinous, deep and structured Champagnes, true wines for the table and able to age for many years.

Critics' scores

• 18.5/20 Jancis Robinson

Technical details

Producer

Philipponnat

Region

Champagne

Country

Francia

Type

Bollicine

Vintage

2011

When to drink

Hold, still evolving

Sizes

75 cl, Magnum 150 cl, Case of 6 × 75 cl

eWibe code

0720111