Description
Cellared last century and launched March 2016. Gosset’s new cuvée has rested in their cellars for 15 years. The base combines wines from several harvests and regions. 60% Pinot Noir from Ambonnay, Aÿ, and Mareuil/Aÿ and 40% Chardonnay from Mesnil/Oger, Cramant and Villers-Marmery. Disgorged in 2015 and finishing with 7g/l of residual sugar.
This is an experience! The immediate flavours are savoury but it is still a fresh and lively drink.. Walnut, macadamia, truffle, yeast, toast with brioche, caramel and honey. When the wine settles you also see dehydrated peach, melons and candied lemon. The palate is fuller in weight, dry and clean with plenty of flavour. The bubbles a fine and light. I’d love to see this wine with crayfish or a mushroom risotto. I’d drink this over the next 12-18 months and hopefully they’ve got enough stocks to release this wine most years.
Gosset say: “an unprecedented balance between vitality and maturity. The revelation of great aromatic complexity is followed by a lively, intense and long palate. This is underpinned by an ever-present freshness and unabashed youthfulness. Indeed, far from developing the wine in a linear fashion, the impact of extended ageing on lees, especially under the effect of malic acid, slows down and even suspends the course of time.”
Established in 1584, Gosset is one of the smallest Grande Marque Champagne producers. Whilst the Champagne that they produce has never been plentiful in quantity, they have distinguished themselves with the consistently superb quality. This is true throughout the entire range of Champagne they produce. Remaining a family owned house, the Gosset family sold the business to the Cointreau family nearly 20 years ago.
Champagne – A wine region of France approximately 160km East of Paris. It is also the name of the wines produced from the area. Most famously it is a sparkling wine that undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle and is aged on lees. Although there is the occasional still wine you can find around particularly Pinot Noir. The fantastically named Bouzy Rouge is one such example. There are very few single vintage, single vineyard, single variety Champagnes (I can only name one and it was produced only 47 times between 1900 and 1999). Why? Due to the large area the region covers, and the challenging weather the houses blended wines to produce a consistent and reliable product every year. This is where the growers come in. They relish the chance to show off vintage variation and small plot wines.
Pinot Noir – This is the most elusive grape. It is relatively early ripening and extremely sensitive to terroir. Its perfect place on earth is the Cote d’Or in Burgundy. So haunting are great red Burgundy’s charms that growers everywhere try to emulate them. Pinot Noir is not just a one trick pony, it can make great reds, rosé, sparkling and even sweet wines, whites on occasion and I’ve tasted a decent fortified Pinot Noir too. Adding body, perfume and richness to Champagne it also adds red berry and floral/rose petal notes along with spice and subtle layers.
Chardonnay – The grape that you can plant anywhere, in any climate and do anything to and it will still taste like an OK wine. When people hit the sweet spot of site, climate, cropping and winemaking, Chardonnay becomes a magical wine that will age gracefully but charm you at any age. Chardonnays can range from cool climate lean and citrusy to warmer climate tropical and overt. Oak and lees can add flavouring as can malolactic fermentation. In a Champagne context Chard can add mineral flavours, stone fruits and acidity along with some weight of fruit.
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