Charles Philipponnat’s vision is one of Champagne produced from fully ripe grapes, with bold fruit, great natural freshness, and the complexity that comes from long lees ageing. Alongside this sits the increasing desire to create small batch Champagnes that show of a sense of place; an understandable ambition when you have such exceptional terroirs at your disposal. With a growing range of wines, the Philipponnat stable continues to cement itself as one of the region’s most exciting addresses, home now to a whole series of site dominated Champagnes.
1522 is not a single vineyard wine as such, however, its heart hails from a lieu-dit called Le Leon; a plot owned by Avril de Philipponnat almost five centuries ago. In this most recent iteration the magnificence of the 2012 vintage is on full display. The Pinot from Ay tends to provide a spicy richness to a blend, and in this 2012, the spice has a tremendous brightness to it, taking the form of fresh ginger, coriander seed and lime leaves, all rendered with wonderful crystalline clarity. Possessing remarkable lift and intensity, the Ay Pinot Noir is bolstered by plots from Mailly, and Chardonnay from Verzy – the whole brilliant picture stretching out across the palate into a long finale that bears all the imprints of the exceptional 2012 vintage.
Read MoreWe also have the inaugural release of a new single vineyard wine in the Philipponnat range, La Rémissonne. The fruit for this cuvée comes from a small plot situated just behind Clos des Goisses in the village of Mareuil sur Ay, where the soils are eroded and chalky and the vines face due south on a gentle slope. Very different from 1522, La Rémissonne offers up notes of olive, and orange peel, cocoa bean and fresh rose, herbs, liquorice and raw cep. A wine with copious layers to it, this is the very antithesis of Champagne as an aperitif and deserves a place on the table. Anyone lucky enough to have tasted Les Cintres will find a similar sense of presence about this bottling. Just 2590 bottles have been produced.
The wines are offered now for delivery at the end of July. The price listed is under bond. Please contact your account manager, email finewine@justerinis.com or follow the link below to place your order.