Champagne Philipponnat
Journeying across Champagne you will inevitably come across familiar sounding names. Grand names behind which often hide grand houses that carry on their business at the global level.
It's a bit different with Charles Philipponnat. His champagne isn't well known to everyone, but it is one of the most exclusive. It was in the 17th century that the Philipponnat family moved to Mareuil-sur-AŸ in the heart of Champagne. In 1910 Pierre and Auguste Philipponnat bought a splendid winery carved 20 metres deep into the chalk bed. And today Charles Philipponnat welcomes guests into 'his' stately home with the finesse, charm and hospitality that characterise it.
Not far away at the edge of the village is the Clos des Goisses, the steepest slope in the area, facing due south and, what's more, the only 'Clos' in the whole of Champagne. Those 5.5 exceptional hectares grow mainly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which give rise to a unique vintage champagne. Production is limited, but that does not prevent it from being a worldwide success. Indeed, this champagne enjoys a top tier reputation at the great tables of the world. And the Charles Philipponnat name carries across equally well to all the other house styles, be it the Royal Reserve, full of character, the elegant rosé or the very fine blanc de blancs.
Sparkling wines from Champagne Philipponnat
from Champagne Philipponnat
Producer
Dominio de Pingus
The first Pingus was bottled in 1995. This limited production wine from Ribera del Duero made history with a legendary rating from Robert Parker Junior (1998): "One of the greatest young red wines I have ever tasted." The vintage is also at the centre of a somewhat mythical-sounding story – the freighter carrying a quarter of the limited production sank off the Azores, with the wine ending up in Davy Jones's locker at the bottom of the sea.
André Clouet / Jean François Clouet
We didn’t find the low house, dating from the 17th century, straight away, even though the village of Bouzy is not very large. Modest buildings are grouped around a courtyard, behind which a vineyard lies, similar to a clos.
Pievalta
The Pievalta estate is located in the municipality of Maiolati Spontini, in the Marche region, in the heart of the Castelli di Jesi. This area is famous for its small fortified medieval villages as well as for the production of wines made from the Verdicchio grape.