Champagne Philipponnat Clos des Goisses Extra Brut 2010 (Magnum) (1.5 L)

The Clos des Goisses is Philipponnat's raison d'être — a 5.5-hectare walled monopole on the steepest slope in all of Champagne, rising at a near-impossible 45° angle above the Marne canal in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. The gradient forces hand-harvesting on terraces of pure flint and chalk, a combination that drives photosynthesis to extremes while the canal below moderates frost risk and amplifies reflected heat. The result is physiological ripeness rarely achievable this far north, without sacrificing the site's razor-edged mineral tension.

The 2010 vintage — cool, late, and structurally austere at harvest — demanded patience. Fermentation proceeds in both stainless steel and old oak vessels, with partial malolactic fermentation deliberately arrested to preserve the site's inherent acidity. Dosage is held to Extra Brut levels, letting the chalk-driven salinity and flint-smoke character speak without sweetness as a crutch. In magnum format, the extended lees contact — well beyond the already generous aging Philipponnat applies across its range — compresses and integrates the wine's structure over time at a slower oxidative rate than standard 75cl.

What no peer does: Clos des Goisses is a Pinot Noir-dominant monopole on a south-facing flint slope that routinely achieves grand-cru-Burgundy-level site specificity within a category defined by blending across villages. The 2010, now past 14 years on cork in magnum, is entering its most expressive plateau.