An Encounter with Charles Philipponnat
Charles, you’ve just finished tasting the clear wines in preparation for future blends. How would you rate the wines from the 2024 vintage?
Our tastings of clear wines concluded with the rosés. At Philipponnat, there are only two grape varieties: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 2024 was a difficult year for the vines, with very heavy rainfall which meant a lot of work in the vineyard to protect the grapes. During the growing season, some areas received up to three times the usual annual rainfall. We had to watch carefully for downy mildew attacks which, despite our monitoring, caused very significant crop losses. Fortunately, our vines are located in the areas that received the least rainfall. We were therefore less affected than others, resulting in a yield of around two-thirds of a normal harvest. In the Clos des Goisses, where the vines are older, the yield was even lower, around 5,000 kilos per hectare.
The reduced harvest was, however, offset by the quality of the grapes, particularly the Pinot Noir, whose excellent concentration is reflected in the wines. The Chardonnay harvest was more abundant, but the lack of light and warmth slowed down ripening. This relative lack of warmth, which limited the concentration of some wines, also made it more difficult to blend coloured wines, both rosés de saignée and reds. But our results are positive: we have some very respectable Chardonnay and some excellent Pinot Noir, the grape variety that has traditionally been at the heart of our Champagnes, which will enable us to produce some excellent wines this year.
How are tastings organised at Philipponnat?
Our Chef de Caves Thierry Garnier and I make the final decisions, but the tasting process is a collaborative one, involving all the teams, from our Vineyard & Supply Manager Teddy Gérard to our Export Manager Thomas Jorez. We also invite members of the sales team, as they are used to tasting, and, just as importantly, they are the ones who will be selling our wines. In order to be the best ambassadors for our wines, our sales people need to be familiar with them, and it’s important that they understand them from the outset. The presence of the team enables us to listen to everyone’s impressions, to see things that had previously been overlooked, and to develop a consensus on consistency with the Philipponnat style.
Are you going to declare a vintage for any of the wines?
Overall, we tasted some very good wines, which will enable us to make some very fine cuvées, including vintage wines. Making vintage wines is first and foremost a question of selecting the juices, and thus of precision when blending. Our skill in selecting enables us to make vintage wines, although perhaps in limited quantities, whenever there are good-quality juices to work with. So this year, we’re going to declare the vintage for all our cuvées.
