Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 1995 Brut Champagne (750ml)          Photo by Johnny

Disgorged in Oct., 2007

Dosage @ 4.5 g/l, Extra Brut

Tasted in Mar., 2012

Lemony robe, with greenish hue. Densely packed fine bubbles. Persistent effervescence.

After a whiff of fruit confit, the bouquet softened towards ripe, almost windfall fruit with hints of coffee and spice. The taste echoed the bouquet: voluptuously ripe, chocolaty Pinot with coffee finesse and beautifully ripe acidity. Dense yet vivacious, silky and vinous. Bold, pure chalky finish. Flawless texture and finesse!

With aeration, the nose further evolved towards lovely milk chocolate, mingled with coffee and chalk. Impressively vinous on the palate, with resonant aftertaste of coffee and soft spice. Ultra refined and detailed. 

For the first half an hour, the overriding impression was of ripeness and vinosity, with matured wisdom and relaxed confidence.

Then, the wine turned younger! It shook off the well-weathered, evolved shell and opened up a core of racy, crystalline fruit driven by more transparent minerality.

The nose became more lifted: cream, crystalline lemon, chalk and just hints of coffee. The palate exuded exquisite, palate-staining yellow fruits and crisp apple, enhanced by incisive chalkiness. Multi-faceted finish of coffee, milk chocolate and soft spice, imprinted by brilliant vinosity.

When we finished the last drops (two hours and a half after opening), the wine still held up nicely!

The change of character, during the cause of tasting, demonstrates one thing clearly: champagne is all about assemblage -- even down to single-vineyard level, the base wines from different parcels possess different characters and paces of evolution of their own, especially given considerable ageing. But suffice to say, 1995 is the most refined and complete Clos des Goisses of that decade!