PHILIPPONNAT Blanc de Noirs Extra-Brut Vintage, Champagne

59% Pinot Noir and 41% Chardonnay. Packaged in a solid oak box. The L.V., or Long Vieillissement, is Philipponnat’s extended-aging project. It is widely accepted that the Clos des Goisses is one of the finest wines in Champagne for aging and needs at least 10 to 15 years to unveil its true majesty. For over two decades, Philipponnat has held back a portion of Clos des Goisses to be released over time. While there have already been some late-disgorged wines released over the years, the L.V. range now formalises a yearly release at the same time as the current vintage. Please note, we are talking about maturation on lees here, with late disgorgement for release. The 1999 L.V. is a blend of 59% Pinot Noir and 41% Chardonnay vinified by Charles Philliponnat himself (in his first year) and aged for a quarter of a century in Philipponnat’s Caveau du Trésor.

80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay. Juste Rosé was added to the portfolio in 1999. Rather than creating a flamboyantly bold wine, as might have been expected from the warm south-facing site, Charles Philipponnat opted for a more refined and pale-coloured wine—‘hardly a rosé’, as its name suggests. The wine is based on a similar blend to the Clos des Goisses Blanc, with an addition of Pinot from several Clos des Goisses lieux-dits, including La Dure, Le Collet, Les 28 Verges, Les Petits Cintres and Les Jolivets Noirs. Only 2,000-3,000 bottles are produced each year, and the wine ages for nine years before release. The rosé is now made with 30% saignée to allow control over the wine’s hue and structure, and the winemaking supports a texture that is at once supple and exceptionally graceful.