Philipponnat Les Cintres 2009
01 May 2019

We are delighted to be able to release Philipponnat’s much lauded plot selection Les Cintres from the 2009 vintage. In just three vintages this cuvee has cemented its place in Champagne’s pantheon of great parcellaire releases. The name refers to the arches found it the vineyard’s supporting walls, and the two plots used in the blend come from the steepest, centrally located slopes of Clos des Goisses, Les Grand Cintres and Les Petites Cintres. They are the oldest vines in the Clos, up to 70 years old, and those that receive the most sunshine, facing due south across the Marne canal. The Pinot Noir grown here achieves some of the highest levels of ripeness in the entire region.

The wine itself is concentrated and vinous; an elixir of Clos des Goisses. It is as if the entire ethos of Philipponnat, of bold ripe fruit set in clear, crisp structures is compressed and magnified; the result is a wine of incredible richness and length but also hugely moreish fruit. Complex and layered, it owes its character to exceptional Pinot Noir that is hand harvested from these old vines and then vinified gently and patiently in oak barrels, before being left sur lie for nine years before disgorgement. Purity, weight of fruit, texture, density yet deftness – these are the words that come to mind when Les Cintres is poured. An initial burst of yellow fruit leads to complex notes of malted barley, apricot kernel, yellow peach, coffee and golden plum, while Goisses’ famously chalky soils provide control and structure underneath. The Maison tends to serve this in Burgundy glasses and it makes complete sense, given the sheer breadth of flavours on display - the only sadness is that just 2461 bottles were produced.