pinot noir in the Clos descGoisses
This afternoon I spent a few hours with Charles Philipponnat in the Clos des Goisses; without a doubt one of the steepest and most beautiful vineyards of the Champagne region.
The harvest started here today and is advancing a lot faster than expected. Charles explaines:
“we harvested an extra plot, which was not planned. The guys are advancing faster as the yields are rather low.”
Today the average yield in the Clos des Goisses was around 7500kg/ha, only 3/4 of the appellation yields. “The cold weather right in the middle of flowering caused coulure resulting in hen and chicken. After this we had a very dry summer making it harder for the grapes to get the necessary nutrients, which slowed down the growth”, elaborates Charles.
looking fown the Clos des Goisses
However the quality of the Pinot is impeccable and sorting was a rarity this first day of harvest. The pickers are paid by the kilo but have received very strict instructions on what to pick and what not. They are paid 20% more to pick in the Clos des Goisses due to the steepness of the vnes and difficulty of the work. The same teams have been picking for more than 10 years and Charles is very happy with their work.
pickers in the Clos drs Goisses
The Pinot came in at 11.8% potential alcohol and tasted rich and sweet but with a good freshness. Charles explained that I should look at the colour of the foam – the whiter the foam the healthier the juice, and the foam I tasted was indeed snow white!!
The juice is pressed in a Bucher pneumatic press, then allowed to settle for about 18 hours before it is pumped into barrel. The barrels remain full of reserve wine till about an hour before they will be filled with the new must.
Charles Philipponnat checking the alcohol %
Once the must has been transferred to barrel the first fermentation is started using the IOC002 yeast. This strain was developed more than 100 years ago by Louis Bolland. Bolland was the chemist in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ as well as being the chef de caves for Philipponnat for more than 50 years.
Even though harvest just started Charles is very happy about this years quality:
” it is a ripe and healthy year, and all great years from the past have been like that” concludes Charles.
