Did anyone else bite on this? Anyone actually had this wine? Given what has happened to the price of the Goisses, I figured this was the best bet at that house in a QPR sense.
See ‘Our Visit to Champagne’ thread.
Sorry, she mentions the 2004 rather than 2003
Yes, I saw that. Maybe Blake has had the 2003. I have to say I’ve never even seen a bottle. But I do love the producer and the idea of a zero from them is very exciting.
This is a very good wine for the vintage and in general. It is a blend of Oger Chardonnay with Ay and Mailly Pinot Noir to which a little Ay still Pinot Noir red wine is added to. It is bigger, forward, open, and has a slightly cherry liqueur edge, but never goes over the edge thanks to some bitter grapefruit and spiced biscuit notes. No clue what RWC is offering it for, but if you like an open, forward, cherry filled Rose with a slight mineral edge then this could be the ticket. Just don’t expect super complexity, raciness, or a classical style - the 2003 vintage wins out in the end. Still, I find it to be very good in its somewhat limited breadth of expression.
Thanks for chiming in, Brad. This is the blanc, not the rose. They are selling it for $79. I bought a few.
They also had the 1999 Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas-François last week (?) for the same price. It’s been an expensive couple of days.
Have only tried the 2002, and it was good. Much more open than the Goisses
No clue why I thought this was the Rose. As for the Blanc, it is good too though not as good as the Rose or the 2002 Blanc. The 1522 s a good wine though very different from the Clos des Goisses. Where Clos des Goisses is meant to express a very special place, the 1522 is meant to show the best of Philipponnat; it is their “house style” prestige cuvee.
The wine is nice and open and drinking well now. Lots of crusty bread and, juicy, fruity flavors, but this has good minerality and a decent backbone for the vintage. A good portion (40%) of the wine sees oak and this is a blend of Oger Chardonnay with Pinot Noir from Ay and Mailly.
Pricewise, I don’t really think $79 is a great deal for this wine, but rather should be its normal price. It drinks at level with the price, but don’t expect a “steal of a deal”.
Again, Brad, thanks for the input. FYI., this is some of the verbiage in the offer:
Philipponnat’s Clos des Goisses in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ is recognized by Champagne insiders as the region’s single greatest site—a south-facing slope of pure chalk planted to a classic blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Yet, few know that Philipponnat owns equally historic vines on another extraordinary south-facing slope, Le Léon in neighboring Aÿ. This sun-drenched site has, for centuries, produced great Pinot Noir and is the primary source for Philipponnat’s new prestige extra-brut Cuvée 1522.
If you’ve never heard of Le Léon before, it’s because until 2000, it vanished into Philipponnat’s blended Champagnes, just as Clos des Goisses did prior to 1935.
But with the new millennium, Charles Philipponnat, 15th generation head of this historic house, decided that Le Léon’s exceptional fruit deserved to be showcased and created Cuvée 1522 to do so.
Charles Philipponnat believes that Le Léon’s greatness is best displayed against a Chardonnay backdrop. And so he blends 60% of Le Léon Pinot with 40% intensely mineral grand cru Chardonnay from the Côtes des Blancs. This leavens the richness of the Le Léon Pinot, giving it the powerful elegance we associate with Philipponnat.
Another key to the wine’s brilliance is that part of the blend is fermented in old barrels, which according to Richard Juhlin gives 1522 an “old-fashioned” style. Charles also blocks the malolactic fermentation—and gives the wine a low dosage of 4 grams per liter at disgorgement—for vibrancy and precision.
Neal,
I think they took too many generalizations in describing the wine. While the 1522 is normally all Ay, in 2003, they blended in some Mailly Pinot Noir because the ripeness of the Ay grapes was too much. Also, the wine normally sees a mix of malolactic fermernation and no malolactic, but this varies by vintage. I don’t recall what the 2003 saw, but I wouldn’t be surprised if no malo was used.
Ay is the heart of the Philipponnat estate vineyards, but to me, more so for it’s intense minerality mixed with a backgrop of nice fruit. I actually think the Oger Chardonnay used is fruitier in general than the Pinot in the blend. The lack of minerality in the 2003 is what drove them to include the Mailly Pinot Noir. I find the heart of Philipponnat and the 1522 is elegance and minerality mixed with a nice expression of fruit.