The Story
The name of Cuvée 1522 is a tribute to the year when the Philipponnat family settled in the village of Ay, in the heart of the Champagne wine-growing area. The family’s ancestors can be traced back in time through the House archives right back to the first, Apvril le Philipponnat, who from 1522 owned vines in “Le Léon”, between Ay and Dizy.
the blend
58% Pinot Noir and 42% Chardonnay. The Pinot Noir comes from our vineyard at “Le Léon” in Ay, and the Chardonnay from Mesnil-sur-Oger.
vinification
A portion of the wines are vinified in wooden barrels without malolactic fermentation to preserve the wine’s freshness, allowing it to develop complexity. Both ample and tangy, this cuvée is eminently suitable for low dosage, extra brut, with only 4.25 g/litre, which is just one third of the conventional dosage for a brut champagne.
aging
Aged for eight years. After this time, the freshness is still apparent, but the benefit of aging on lees has reached full potential.
Vintage 2016
This year trialled the growers with many climatic hazards from excessive rainfalls to frosts, downy mildew, hail, draught and, finally, sunburn. A cool spring saw late-April frost, which cut volumes early on. Mildew was an issue throughout the region (especially in the Côte des Bar), equally diminishing volumes. July and August were then hot and very dry months and the resultant sunburn reduced the yields further. Ripening was uneven, and Chardonnay especially needed time and was thus considered the most difficult variety for the vintage. Overall volumes were down to 9,163 kg/ha, offering balanced wines with an average potential alcohol of 9.9% and total acidity of 7.4g/l. Fruit-forward, lush wines with vibrant acidity.
