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Wine Information
Réserve Millésimée from Philipponnat is the ultimate expression of the grand Pinot Noir terroirs found in Ay and Mareuil-sur-Ay.
As a very fine table Champagne, Réserve Millésimée 2003 is a perfect food companion. Completely at ease with seafood, especially with butter sauces, it goes even better with poultry, broiled meat and feathered game.
Pinot Noir will find balanced aromatic harmonies with these foods, as well as with terrines or foie gras, provided that the sauce is not sweet.
Made only in exceptional years, it is the fruit of a strict selection from among the vintage's finest wines. Its extraordinary quality originates in this ambitious blending, expressing the vintage’s specific character.
Long ageing allows it to fully develop the complexity of truly Grand Champagne.
Vinous and powerful, the Vintage Reserve remains elegant and fresh. Perfect all alone, it will nevertheless brilliantly accompany an entire meal.
Pure cuvée (first pressing) of Pinot Noir from Ay and Mareuil-sur-Ay (70%) and Chardonnay (30%) from the Côte des Blancs.
Traditional, a portion of the blend is not subjected to malolactic fermentation in order to preserve more freshness and to increase the potential for keeping the wine. It is dosed at 5 g/l, which is very low for a Brut, in order to allow the natural and noble character of the cuvée to express itself.
Vintage 2003
A challenging vintage for Champagne in the face of an unprecedented heatwave during the summer months. The wines are characterised by the year's unusual circumstances. Large-scale frosts destroyed most of the projected yield and they were followed by hail and an extremely hot summer. Harvest was kick-started early on August 21st and yields remained minuscule at 8,100 kg/ha. Atypically round, ripe, sun-kissed wines that miss freshness and backbone. The total acidity level was notably low, at 5.8 g/l. Only the very best performers were able to avoid heaviness and overripe aromatics. This vintage was not largely declared but some famous names, Krug and Dom Pérignon at the fore, chose to experiment with it. Both produced excellent 2003s and Dom Pérignon's chef de cave at the time named the vintage as one of the creations he is most proud of. Some special cuvées surfaced, such as 2003 by Bollinger, as the house found the year did not stylistically fit into the La Grande Année range. Palmer & Co also took a curious route and made its 2003 only in magnum, releasing it much later than usual as cuvée Grands Terroirs. The ageing capacity of 2003 is much debated. Dom Pérignon's Richard Geoffroy had great confidence in his 2003 and he actually regretted releasing it too early. The jury is still out, but personally I am inclined to drink mine sooner rather than later, as the advancement post-disgorgement has in most cases been rather rapid and the wines miss the acidic backbone necessary for retaining freshness.