Philipponnat - Cuvée 1522 Extra Brut 2016

Disgorged in March 2021 with 4.5 grams per liter dosage, Philipponnat's 2014 Extra-Brut Grand Cru Cuvée 1522 exhibits aromas of crisp yellow apples, stone fruit, buttery pastry and citrus oil. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and elegantly vinous, with a layered core of fruit, bright girdling acids and a seamless profile, it's beautifully balanced and should age with considerable grace. As I've written before, this cuvée derives its name from the year in which the Philipponnat family settled in Ay, and it's intended to foreground the virtues of the wines of that village.

As I've written before, Charles Philipponnat took the reins at this historic house in Mareuil-sur-Ay in 1999, initiating a remarkable renaissance that continues to this day. The flagship wine remains the Clos des Goisses, first produced in 1935: this steep, south-facing site is one of Champagne's ripest terroirs and produces what is arguably the region's longest-lived wine; it's the source of many of the greatest old Champagnes that I've ever tasted. And I suspect his experience with the Clos des Goisses informs Charles Philipponnat's pursuit of elevated maturity, his decision to generally block malolactic fermentation and his minimalist approach to dosage. Recent years have seen a new series of lieu-dit bottlings from within the Clos des Goisses, taking the idea of terroir Champagne that this house pioneered back in 1935 even further. And in the last few years, the "L.V."—or "Long Vieillissement"—range has formalized Philipponnat's already extant late-disgorgement program. All these recent releases come warmly recommended.