Philipponnat Clos des Goisses
Today’s offer was inspired by the upcoming La Fête du Champagne dinner in Los Angeles this coming November. Champagne Philipponnat will be hosting an exclusive dinner featuring an impressive lineup of back vintages from their iconic Clos des Goisses. It’s a world-class selection! (Please note, we have no affiliation with the event.)
As a collector (nevermind retailer) who has personally cellared Philipponnat for nearly 20 years, I’m impressed with what they’ll be offering, but if you can’t make it, let me present options which, if poured at your own dinner party, could easily rival this event.
The heart of the evening centers around some rare bottling from the "Long Vieillissement" (LV) series. This is a program, which began in 1992 by Charles Philipponnat - it is a program where several hundred bottles are held back each year and aged 25 years sur lattes prior to disgorgement. I’m thrilled to be able to offer what is arguably one of the finest vintages produced of this legendary wine 1996 Clos des Goisses LV. We made a small offering a couple of years ago and those disappeared almost immediately - a true Unicorn!
For those who appreciate rarity on a grander scale, we also have another legend in the making which isn’t being poured at the event….an allocation of the monumental 2013 Clos des Goisses in Jeroboam (3L) . Large formats like this are the ultimate collector’s prize, offering slower, more graceful aging that develops deeper complexity while maintaining remarkable freshness. With only 243 Jeroboams produced for the entire world, from a vintage hailed as structured and age-worthy, this is not just a statement piece—it is a reference point Champagne for the future.
Also listed in vintage chronological order, other selections of our world inventory of this famed Champagne House. Don’t take for granted that quantities for all bottlings listed here are extremely limited.
VINS RARE NOTE : Our small offering back in April 2023 disappeared in hours, and I am lucky to have secured another minuscule allocation. It’s often called “A Unicorn,” as connoisseur's dream. This is one of the rarest Champagnes in the world, showcasing the profound effects of a quarter-century of extended aging. A true unicorn wine, numbered in the hundreds— 25 years of lees aging under natural cork before release. It is a next-level experience of complexity and depth.
The 1996 Extra-Brut Clos des Goisses L.V. has reached a glorious peak of expression. Apricot, burnt sugar, spice, pastry, hazelnut and a whole range of reductive notes that have developed in bottle fill out the layers. In 1996, Clos des Goisses was still aged on cork (for both the original and L.V. releases. Over time, cork seems to given the 1996 an especially relaxed, resonant feel. Dosage is 4.5 grams per liter. Disgorged: March 2021.
- Vinous/Galloni, 96
Readers with the requisite disposable income will have a fun time comparing the 1996 Extra Brut Clos des Goisses L.V., disgorged last year, with its immediate predecessor, the 1995. Offering up complex aromas of confit orange, coffee, toasted notes and honeycomb, it's full-bodied, fleshy and seamless, with excellent concentration, nicely integrated acids and a long, saline finish.
- William Kelley, 95
VINS RARE NOTE : I bought 12 of these and am offering 6 for sale here today - the other 6 are going into my cellar!
Disgorged in April 2021 with the usual 4.5 grams per liter dosage, Philipponnat's 2012 Extra-Brut Clos des Goisses offers up generous aromas of pear, pomelo and peach mingled with hints of honeycomb, macadamia nut and fresh bread. Full-bodied, broad and vinous, it's fleshy and textural, with a strikingly concentrated core of fruit, compelling mid-palate plenitude, bright acids and a pillowy pinpoint mousse. Demonstrative, even dramatic, its youthful generosity is deceptive, as it's only with some bottle age that real complexity will emerge.
- William Kelley, 97+
The 2012 Extra-Brut Clos des Goisses is a Champagne of extraordinary elegance and finesse. Silky and aromatic, the 2012 impresses with its mid-weight, refined personality. Hints of kirsch, red plum, flowers and chamomile open gently in the glass. Clos des Goisses is often a rich, vinous Champagne, but the 2012 comes across as restrained and understated in all the right ways. Its aging potential will be measured in decades not years. Sadly, severe spring frost took with it a startling 50% of the crop. According to Charles Philipponnat Pinot fared better than Chardonnay.
- Vinous/Galloni, 97
VINS RARE NOTE : The Monument: 2013 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses, Extra Brut Jeroboam is a true rarity that belongs in any serious collection. The perfect large-format bottle from a stellar vintage, destined for decades of evolution.
The 2013 Extra-Brut Clos des Goisses is fabulous. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2013 is in no mood to show all its cards. The late harvest produced a bristling, intensely saline Clos des Goisses that will require years to be. at its best. Even so, its depth, textural resonance and finish are so evocative as to what the future holds. The 2013 is a positively stunning Champagne and one of the best Goisses in recent memory. I can't wait to see how it develops. Dosage is 4.5 grams per liter.
- Vinous Media/ Galloni, 98
Surpassing even the 2012 and 2008, Philipponnat's 2013 Extra-Brut Clos des Goisses looks to be the finest vintage of this cuvée in several decades, at least on first acquaintance. Deriving from only the six core parcels out of the 13 that make up the Clos des Goisses, it's a striking wine, evoking aromas of crisp yellow orchard fruit, Anjou pear, clear honey, bee pollen, stone fruit and iodine. Full-bodied, layered and vinous, its textural attack segues into a deep, concentrated and tightly wound mid-palate that's girdled by racy acids and chalky structure, before concluding with a long, saline finish. Why is it quite so good? It would appear that 2013 was the perfect storm: an early-ripening terroir in a cool, late vintage; moderately yielding Burgundian selections of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that attained full maturity; and a willingness to make a strict selection have all come together to deliver a profound Clos des Goisses.
- William Kelley, 98
VINS RARE NOTE : The latest release from Philipponnat is another legend in the making. The 2015 version offers all of the ripe qualities you would associate from a warm vintage, but it’s the amazing terroir that can only be described as Clos des Goisses that is the signature here. This one is another in a long line of exceptional cellar worthy Clos des Goisses.
Surpassing the 2010, the 2015 Extra-Brut Clos des Goisses is gorgeous, evoking aromas of pear, mirabelle, spices, honey, brioche and perfectly ripe orchard fruits intertwined with delicate notes of iodine. Full-bodied, vinous and concentrated, it's layered and dense with remarkable depth at the core combined with racy acids and a structured, perfectly balanced mid-palate. Slightly austere at this stage, it finishes long and sappy with a licorice-inflected aftertaste. This blend of 78% Pinot Noir and 22% Chardonnay, disgorged in March 2024 with a dosage of 4.5 grams per liter, did not undergo malolactic fermentation. Readers eager to experience this superb Champagne at its peak should be patient.
- Wine Advocate, 97+
The 2015 Extra-Brut Clos des Goisses is a powerful, resonant wine, just as it was last year. In 2015, all of the lots were vinified in oak, which lends notable textural resonance and poise. Pear, spicecake, ginger, dried flowers and a kiss of oak are all dialed up. There is an underlying vegetal note lurking beneath, typical of the year, but it's nicely integrated. The long finish is striking. The 2015 opens beautifully with air, gaining in both precision and tension. Dosage is 4.5 grams per liter. Disgorged: March 2024.
- Vinous/Galloni
