by Paige Donner

First published as Philipponnat Champagne’s Clos des Goisses on Technorati.

Very few families, even in France’s historic Champagne region, can date their ancestral roots in the region as far back as 500 years. The family of Philipponnat, namesake of the champagne, is one of these rarities. Not only are they still in the region where their ancestors settled in 1522, they are still in the small village of Mareuil-sur-Ay. It’s also how they came up with their prestige cuvées name “1522.” A few vinification traditions this house respects that have great bearing on their champagnes:

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• Philipponnat uses only the first press juice for vinification
• Moderate dosage
• Mostly Pinot Noir grapes during blending
• Barrel-fermented wines (which is not the total amount of the must) do not undergo malolactic fermentation
• Slightly delayed harvests for their Pinot Noir grapes to achieve optimal maturity

Balance is key. Balance of freshness and acidity are the hallmarks of the house, headed today by Charles Philipponnat who is aided by cellar master Thierry Garnier and vineyard manager Claude Laurent. As many of the best winemakers will tell you, their belief, and practice, is that good oenology means as little manipulation as possible. So their vinification methods are as natural as they can maintain them. During fermentation they keep temperatures “deliberately low.” For the oak barrels they do use, mostly so that specifically designated juice can be in contact with oxygen when aging, they source from Burgundy and choose barrels which are usually 1-2 years old.

Their historic 18th c. cellars, upon which the fairly recent (2002) winery was built in Mareuil- sur-Ay so as to be closer to their crown jewel vineyard, the Clos des Goisses, are actually the historic cellars of the former Château de Mareuil. This means that during harvest, the prime Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes growing in the 5 ½ ha. Clos des Goisses and Le Léon reach the Philipponnat pressoirs within hours and after very little - in some cases less than a kilometer - of transport. Walking past the Clos, you can actually see, from a cutout of the steep hillside, the depth of the famous chalky soils. 

As a connoisseur, you can’t go wrong with a Philipponnat champagne. A few tasting highlights follow:

Grand Blanc; 75% Chardonnay, this is made exclusively from the best Premier and Grand Cru vineyards. It is an exceptional champagne in the Phillipponnat portfolio in that it resembles a Blanc de Blancs and exhibits what the Champenois call a “creamy” texture. Try it with lobster, langoustine, scallops, seafood.

1522 Grand Cru; Blended from the very best of the first press Pinot Noir (60%) and Chardonnay (40%) juice. Only a third of the usual Brut dosage for champagne, this one, at 4.5 gr. sugar per liter, is expansive with excellent balance of acidity. This fine-palate champagne can pair with meals of fish and seafood, or, to be slightly daring, a spicy Tandoori chicken dish. It contrasts with the Clos des Goisses cuvee, “by virtue of a pursuit of balance rather than of great power.”

Clos des Goisses, (2002): Always and only a vintage champagne. Low dosage (4 to 5 gr. sugar) and extended maturing under cork stoppers at the constant cellar temp. of 12C/ 54F. Of the potential 55,000 bottles that could be produced of this from the harvest, only 3,000 to a maximum of 40,000 bottles depending on the year, are ever issued. Only the best grapes, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, from the exceptional vineyard of Clos des Goisses, are used. Vines are average 25 years and older. “A truly great wine before being a champagne.” Best served with truffles, game, caviar, soft cheeses. The 2002 vintage, disgorged in June 2011, has a length to it during which it reveals to you its chalky terroir roots, its days spent in the sunshine up against the Marne River and the non-malolactic fermentation religiously observed for this wine. French wine critics call this “one of the world’s best wines.” Rightfully so.

All photos © Paige Donner

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by Paige Donner

From about the end of the 1910s to the 1940s Montparnasse was the neighborhood that claimed the title, Place To Be. It’s where Hemingway had been hanging out the most when he wrote his friend that letter saying, “…Paris is a moveable feast.” *[Full quote here]. 

With the recent re-opening of the 56th Floor Ciel de Paris in the Tour Montparnasse, it is once again the place in Paris To Be.  [PICS HERE]

Christophe Marchais is still the chef here, having done his Ducasse time in Las Vegas years ago as well as time in Monaco, so the cuisine is consistently as fabulous as it always has been. His methods are to use fresh French produce and choose among “noble ingredients” for the creative flair: truffles, lobster, caviar, fois gras, turbot. Though for the re-opening as of June 2012, he and his Chef Patissier, Baptiste Methivier, added innovative upgrades of a tea-time Bar Millefeuille which features 3 sweet and 3 savory choices each day. A perfect light meal to enjoy with your glass of Besserat de Bellefon Cuvée des Moines at the bar with the city’s best view over Paris and the highest point in Europe.

I’ve written about the best champagne bars of Paris for BlackBook and if this one had been open yet after its complete interior overhaul, it would have made it to the top of the list. Not least because it’s one of the only champagne bars in town where you can order a tasting flight of different champagnes, blanc de blancs no less. Look for this on the menu: Dégustation des Blanc de Blancs 22 € (Ruinart, Nicolas Feuillatte, Canard Duchêne).

Another overhaul that Elior, the parent group of the restaurant, has done with the menu is offered a quick lunch for people arriving at the next door Montparnasse Train Station (departure for Bordeaux) where for 38€ you have appetizer, main course and dessert. That’s gastronomic quality fare at dizzying heights over one of the prettiest cities in the world in modern chic art deco reminiscent décor - all for less than $50 per person. It’s the deal of the decade. Signature dish is Lobster soup flavoured with sea urchin stock.

Notes on the décor: all half-tones of ambers and caramel done in sleek lines that feel like 21st century take on Art Deco. Credit goes to Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance who used the thematic of “sparkling” to season his choices. Fall in love with the ceiling lighting, big flat, LED back-lit circles that have you thinking of champagne bubbles and indeed make you feel like you’re floating in a flute of champagne, suspended from the sky, 56 storeys above Paris. 

Guess who else used to haunt Montparnasse in her day? Anäis Nin… but we’ll leave that for the bedside recommended reading after you’ve dined at Ciel de Paris.

Tour Montparnasse, 56th Floor, 33 Avenue Maine 75015 Paris

+33-01-40-64-77-64   CieldeParis.com

Local Food And Wine

Just across the street from the famous Moët & Chandon cellars in Champagne, France are their exquisite gardens. Only open to private visitors, or once a year to public visitors during the Fetes des Jardins, the grounds are aptly named after Marie-Antoinette’s famous personal palace at Versailles, Trianon. The proper name is the résidence de Trianon and the jardins de l’orangerie.

Manicured grounds with remarkable palm trees, exquisite lemon trees and ripe rosé pink rose bushes, this year’s artistic exhibit in the Orangerie at the far end of the grounds features photos of gardens throughout recent history. Gardens in pictures from Paris’s Luxembourg gardens to flowered grounds in other regions of France and abroad as far away as the U.S.

I was inspired so here is my humble offering to photographic historical record...Click HERE for Full SLIDESHOW

All photos © Paige Donner 2012

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