Champagne Philipponnat

Founded in 1522, Champagne Philipponnat is one of the most historic houses in the region, rooted in the villages of Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ at the heart of Champagne. The estate has been shaped by sixteen generations of the same family, formalised in its modern form in 1910 when Auguste and Pierre Philipponnat acquired the Château de Mareuil cellars. Today the house farms twenty hectares of vines across Premier and Grand Cru sites, complemented by long-standing partnerships with independent growers.

At the heart of the domain lies Clos des Goisses, a legendary single-vineyard site of almost six hectares across fourteen plots, its slope rising at 35 to 45 degrees — the steepest gradient over such an area anywhere in Champagne. South-facing and blessed with the sunniest microclimate in the region, the site's chalk soils sit almost flush with the surface, giving the wines their signature tension and remarkable ageing capacity. Acquired by Pierre Philipponnat in 1935 from a practically abandoned vineyard, Clos des Goisses became the region's first single-vineyard ("mono-cru") Champagne, and remains one of the most powerful and age-worthy cuvées produced anywhere in Champagne today.

Alongside this icon, Philipponnat produces elegant vintage and non-vintage blends built around Pinot Noir — the house's grape of predilection — balanced with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier for fruit, minerality and precision. The house has farmed organically for decades: eliminating insecticides in favour of mechanical weeding, using exclusively organic fertiliser for over thirty years, and working the steepest slopes by hand and with draught horses. This commitment has earned Philipponnat High Environmental Value (HVE Level 3) certification and the Viticulture Durable en Champagne label, with its winemaking facilities and procedures now certified organic. In the cellar, wines are vinified with minimal intervention — barrel-aged without malolactic fermentation for Clos des Goisses, low dosage, light filtration — a philosophy that honours tradition while embracing innovation.