Founded in Aÿ in 1584 by Pierre Gosset, Champagne Gosset is the oldest wine house in Champagne. For more than four centuries, the preservation of style, elegance and family traditions in the making of Gosset champagne has been paramount. Champagne Gosset’s reputation for high-quality starts in the vineyard, where they source grapes almost entirely from premier cru and grand cru vineyards. Unlike most champagne producers, Gosset carefully avoids malolactic fermentation and uses extended lees aging to expose the terroir and produce dynamic, age-worthy cuvées. Gosset champagnes are made with extreme care and kept in dark cellars for four to five years for non-vintage wines — and up to seven for vintage champagnes and 10 for the CELEBRIS cuvées — before release.
Founded in Aÿ in 1584 by Pierre Gosset, Champagne Gosset is the oldest wine house in Champagne. Over the next four centuries, generations of the Gosset family would go on to win fame not only as alderman, mayors and magistrates in Aÿ, but also in growing and trading wines of Champagne. Whatever the period, the men and women of the Gosset family had a single ambition — to improve their terroir.
In 1993, after more than 400 years of family ownership, Champagne Gosset was purchased by the Renaud-Cointreau family, who also owns and manages the highly regarded Cognac Frapin. The Renaud-Cointreaus insist on a continuity of the old-style champagne appropriate to its historic birthplace in Aÿ. While other Champagne houses are handing over the reins to large corporations, the Renaud-Cointreau family understands the importance of preserving the heritage in winemaking that has, over 430 years, made Champagne Gosset the ultimate name in champagne.
In 2009, Champagne Gosset announced the acquisition of a new property in the heart of Epernay, which doubles the cellar space and serves as an extension to its production facilities in Aÿ.
Champagne Gosset’s reputation for quality starts in the vineyard, where it sources grapes almost entirely from premier cru and grand cru vineyards in the Côte des Blancs, Grand Vallée de la Marne and Montagne de Reims. These vineyards rate an average of 95 percent on the “échelle des crus,” or “ladder of growths,” — the classification system of the villages in the Champagne region. The top-rated villages are given a score of 100 percent and are called grand crus; currently there are 17 such villages. The next tier has scores ranging from 90 to 99 percent; these are the premier cru villages, of which there are 44. The remaining 296 crus have scores between 80 and 89 percent.
Champagne Gosset has long-term relationships with growers that date back several generations, allowing the winemaking team to direct activity in the vineyards.
Champagne Gosset’s style is based on a philosophy that aims to utilize all the grapes and terroir have to offer and to minimize other inputs. For example, unlike most champagne producers, Gosset carefully avoids malolactic fermentation, thus preserving the malic acid present in the grapes.
Champagne Gosset keeps all grower lots separate until it is time to blend the cuvées and vinification temperatures are managed carefully to preserve delicate aromatics.
During assemblage, all the lots are tasted blind – there are no recipes with Champagne Gosset. Similarly, dosage for each lot is selected during blind trials. Gosset champagnes are made with extreme care and kept in dark cellars for at least three years — and up to seven for vintage champagnes and 10 for the CELEBRIS cuvées — before release. Extended lees aging is another hallmark of Champagne Gosset.
Gosset’s inimitable style — pure, precise, elegant and textured, with remarkable longevity — has changed little over the centuries. Once a favorite of the kings and queens of France, Champagne Gosset remains one of the most illustrious and prestigious producers, considered by many collectors and connoisseurs as the world’s preeminent luxury champagne.
59% Pinot Noir, 41% Chardonnay
An extremely fine and grouped effervescence. The dress is crystalline, luminous, and slightly golden. The nose is fruity, fresh, and tangy. Both greedy and elegant, it expresses pastry notes and aromas of fresh fruit: nougat, frangipane, candied orange, and mirabelle plum. A delicate note of passe-crassane pear carrying a touch of Williams pear liqueur can be guessed. A tonic wine, with a nice tension around the aromas of fresh fruits. Nectarine, yellow peach, and a tangy note of rhubarb develop in the mouth. The end of the mouth is clean, frank, saline, and mineral leaving a touch of bitterness and verbena.
Review:
Having retained all its youthful acidity because there was no malolactic fermentation, the Champagne is brilliantly lit. Acidity and a light texture from the Pinot Noir in the blend give the wine a crisp edge with still-young citrus.
-Wine Enthusiast 94 Points
A firm, focused version, this swathes a chiseled spine of acidity in a raw, silky texture and finely meshed flavors of yellow peach, orange liqueur, honeycomb and chopped almond. A rich streak of salinity drives the well-cut, spiced finish. Drink now through 2035.
-Wine Spectator 94 Points
Luis Canas Rioja Crianza is made from 95% Tempranillo and 5% Garnacha
A classic style Rioja from one of the regions most enduring family run wineries.. The hillside terraced vineyards are sheltered by the Sierra Cantabria Mountains to the north from harsh weather extremes. Small plot production is utilized in this region of infertile chalky clay soil to produce clusters of excellent quality. Almost 900 plots are needed to complete the approximately 400 hectares of estate-owned or cellar-controlled vineyards, some with vines more than 100 years in age.
Tasting notes
Made from 95% Tempranillo, 5% Garnacha of 30 years of age, the wine shows a ruby red color, a clean nose with nuances of balsamic, plum and cedar. The palate is smooth and velvety, complex and structured, with fruit, spice flavors with toasted oak. A pleasant finish with red fruits and hints of eucalyptus.
The harvest
This year in Rioja Alavesa the weather has been especially cold, the summer short and dry, and there has been plenty of rain in early September. This has produced wines with great aromatic notes, particularly those coming from high altitude areas, very fragrant and with great structure.
Winemaking and aging
Upon entering the bodega and passing the selection table, the grapes are de-stemmed and crushed before undergoing fermentation and then maceration in stainless steel tanks for a total of 8 days, obtaining better color extraction as well as much more complex wines, suitable for prolonged aging. The wine is clarified with vegetable gelatines and follows anicrobic filtration.
It is ideal to pair with meats; red meat, poultry, small game, oily fish, semi-cured cheeses, spicy dishes and hot dishes such as beans or potatoes Rioja style.
After its primary fermentation, the wine is placed in barrels where it undergoes malolactic fermentation and is aged for a minimum of 12 months. It is then bottled for at least another 12 months.
In 1992 the Hill-Smith family counted themselves amongst those fortunate enough to own a vineyard upon the famous Coonawarra terra rossa soil over limestone. Experimentation, innovation, minimalist intervention and small batch winemaking has resulted in The Menzies’ reputation as a wine of longevity, elegance and structure.
Situated in the heart of Coonawarra’s terra rossa strip, The Menzies Estate vineyard lies on a flat plain, approximately 70km from the coast. Given the terrain and influence of the cooling Bonney upwelling, Coonawarra is an ideal location to grow premium Cabernet Sauvignon. Our soil is red sandy loam over limestone, which is classic Cabernet Sauvignon country. The grapes for The Menzies 2017 are from vines planted in 1994 and 1996. Bunches are usually small with small berries, giving concentration via an ideal skin to juice ratio favouring the making of fullbodied reds.
Experimentation, innovation, minimalist intervention, and small batch winemaking has resulted in The Menzies' reputation as a wine of longevity, elegance, and structure.
Aromas of fresh rosemary, mulberry, violets and exotic spices. Take a sip and you will feel the poise and tension for which great Cabernet is renowned. A wine of great complexity with flavors of blackcurrant, bitter chocolate, and mulberries, wrapped in divine tannins and a lovely sweet, dark fruit finish. With decanting in its youth, it is enjoyable as an elegant full-bodied red wine.
Review:
The 2017 The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon is looking good next to the 2016 tasted beside it. It is fresh and vibrant, with layers of complexing dark earth characters, with cigar box, black olive brine, cassis, bramble, milk chocolate and cracked black pepper. This is very good, and it has what I am coming to recognize as a "Yalumba red character": dried herbs, particularly oregano. The juicy splay of fruit through the finish is a highlight.
-Wine Advocate 95 Points