Why it matters
The producer
Philipponnat is a Champagne house in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ whose wines centre on Pinot Noir from the southern slopes of the Grande Vallée de la Marne. The family dates its establishment in Champagne to 1522; Auguste and Pierre Philipponnat created the modern company in 1910 and acquired the Château de Mareuil cellars. That long local footing now appears in bottles at several scales: a multi-vintage reserve blend, Grand Cru cuvées and a vintage wine from one enclosed vineyard.
The house has developed 20 hectares of Premier and Grand Cru vineyards and also works with partner growers. Pinot Noir supplies ripe fruit, body and savoury depth; Chardonnay brings citrus and lift. The result is Champagne built less around a light, simple aperitif style than around fruit weight, chalky acidity and food-ready structure.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Mareuil-sur-Aÿ sits beside the Marne canal, where Philipponnat works with Pinot Noir from the southern slopes of the Grande Vallée de la Marne. In Champagne, a village or vineyard name is not merely an address on a label: exposure and ground influence how fully grapes ripen, while the finished wine still needs enough acidity to carry its mousse and finish.
Clos des Goisses makes that relationship especially visible. Its south-facing slope catches exceptional sunlight, bringing ripe Pinot Noir fruit, while its chalky ground keeps the palate firm and dry. A bottle from this one site therefore reads differently from Réserve Perpétuelle Brut, which builds its character by combining several harvests and vineyards.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
In the vineyards, Philipponnat uses organic fertilisers, cover crops, mechanical weeding and biocontrol measures; its facilities and winemaking procedures are organically certified. On Clos des Goisses, steep ground also brings hand work. These choices keep vineyard management tied to the condition of the soil and fruit rather than treating every plot alike.
In the cellar, the house selects the first press, or cuvée, for its wines. Reserve wines and selected cuvées see wood, while malolactic fermentation is allowed for some wines and withheld for others. The choice changes the palate: malolactic fermentation can soften acidity, while its absence retains a firmer citrus line. Long ageing on lees then adds texture and breadth beneath the mousse.
Wines to know
The range in view
Réserve Perpétuelle Brut is the house’s multi-vintage wine. Its current blend is 66% Pinot Noir, 32% Chardonnay and 2% Pinot Meunier, with 56% reserve wines from earlier harvests raised under wood. Three years on lees bring mousse and length, while the reserve element adds vinosity and mature fruit rather than presenting a single year’s weather.
Cuvée 1522 Extra-Brut 2019 moves to Grand Cru fruit, with 77% Pinot Noir and 23% Chardonnay. Pinot Noir comes from Le Léon in Aÿ, Mailly and Verzy; Chardonnay comes from Mesnil-sur-Oger. Twenty percent is vinified under wood and 43% avoids malolactic fermentation, so ample body meets dry acidity after eight years on lees.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Choose Cuvée 1522 Extra-Brut 2019. It combines Grand Cru Pinot Noir from Aÿ, Mailly and Verzy with Chardonnay from Mesnil-sur-Oger, then spends eight years on lees. Twenty percent wood vinification adds texture, while 43% of the blend avoiding malolactic fermentation keeps its acidity brisk. The wine is dry and ample, with fruit, spice, savoury lees character and a long finish. It shows the house beyond the single vineyard while keeping the Pinot Noir-and-chalk character in clear view.