Gosset Grand Reserve Brut Champagne NV 75 cl

Product Information

Founded in 1584, Gosset is the oldest House in the Champagne region. Production remained fairly low-key until 1994, when the House was sold to the family owned Renaud-Cointreau Group. This takeover saw an increased level of investment improve their vineyard management and fostered a doubling of Gosset's annual production to nearly one million bottles in just fourteen years. Production was accelerated by the return to the beautiful old-fashioned bottles identical to the ones used by Jean Gosset in the 18th century. After sixteen generations in the famous village of Aÿ, the winery has only recently moved to Épernay and the modern ex-Malakoff cellars. Founded in Ay in 1584 Champagne Gosset is the oldest wine house in Champagne. The Grande Réserve is the true signature of the House. Its style rests on Pinot Noir from Ay which gives the structure to the wine. Malolactic fermentation has been avoided to preserve the freshness and the elegance of the fruit and a long ageing in cellars will bring roundness and complexity. Dosage is kept low as in the style of the house (8 g/l). The NV Grande Reserve Brut, which is 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, and the rest Pinot Meunier and 8 g/l dosage, is lifted with tropical and citrus fruit, including lychee, orange blossom, and lime. Juicy and medium-bodied, with tangerine and mango, it is a solid entry to the range. opens with a rich, ripe and intense, yet elegant and distinguished bouquet of sweet cherries, yellow plums, brioches, lemons and a hint of nougat. Round and intense on the palate, this is a medium to full-bodied, elegant and mouth-filling Brut. It has charming cherry fruit, and nice freshness and grip in the finish. There are lovely herbal aromas in the aftertaste...

Founded in Aÿ in 1584 by Pierre Gosset, Champagne Gosset is the oldest wine house in Champagne. For more than four centuries, the family has preserved its house style, a true reflection of the terroir; a textured wine that shows purity, precision and persistence. Gosset, the oldest of Champagne houses, have been making wine in Aÿ since 1584, much longer than Champagne has had bubbles intentionally! WINE: Grande Réserve is the “heart” of the range. This non-vintage cuvée utilizes mostly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with a small portion of Pinot Meunier. Grande Réserve spends 3-4 years on the lees, which is three times longer than the AOC legal limit and provides added texture and complexity. Gosset is still based in Aÿ, a village just a few kilometres from Epernay, and remains relatively small at 1.3 million bottles a year, with the focus on premium wines. The house style here is one of purity, elegance and precision. The Gosset style of dry Champagnes is well expressed in their nonvintage cuvée. It is crisp with a steely acidity that is balanced by apple and tight citrus fruit flavors. The wine is fresh while also showing a touch of bottle aging.

Available for collection from London Shop

The least planted of the three main grapes, chardonnay is still a crucial partner, bringing elegance and finesse to a blend. When grown so far north, acidity levels in chardonnay are high, but this is essential for wines to have longevity, and to ensure that the finished blend doesn't taste flabby. It is this acidity that marks the finesse and precision of these fine sparkling wines. Champagnes with a high proportion of chardonnay are generally the most elegant and pure styles and make wonderful aperitifs. Champagnes made solely from chardonnay are known as blanc de blancs ('white of whites'). What marks the ‘Champagne’ method from other sparkling wines is the fact that this complex and gradual maturation process, along with the second fermentation, takes place in the same bottle as the wine is sold. Brut denotes a dry style of Champagne (less than 15 grams per litre). Most Champagne is non-vintage, produced from a blend from different years. The non-vintage blend is always based predominately on wines made from the current harvest, enriched with aged wines (their proportion and age varies by brand) from earlier harvests, which impart an additional level of complexity to the end wine. Champagnes from a single vintage are labelled with the year reference and with the description Millésimé. In some Champagnes the dégorgement is delayed, sometimes for years, to increase the depth and complexity of the flavours through more time spent on the lees. After topping up (dosage) with a little more wine and sugar (known as liqueur d'expédition), the bottle is sealed. The predominantly Pinot Noir blend creates a very fine fruit, refreshed by the Chardonnay endowing it with an elegant, mineral finish.

The nose opens with the fresh ripeness of yellow apple and highlights of Granny Smith. Beautifully subtle autolysis on the palate deepens into notes of creamy apple crumble, Golden delicious and Mirabelle plum while remaining utterly straitlaced. Elegance, length and absolute freshness are inherent and quietly convincing. Pierre Gosset was Mayor of Ay when, in 1584, he founded his Wine House. Only still wine were made at the time with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape, known as Vin D’Ay. The Sparkling wine production only started in the 18th Century and was presented in the antique flask still used for the production of Champagne Gosset today. of vineyards in Champagne are planted with Chardonnay and it performs best on the Côtes des Blancs and on the chalk slopes south of Epernay. It is relatively simple to grow, although it buds early and thus is susceptible to spring frosts. It produces lighter, fresher wines than those from Burgundy and gives finesse, fruit and elegance to the final blend. It is the sole grape in Blancs de Blancs, which are some of the richest long-lived Champagnes produced.

A recent study proved that Champagne may be stored equally well standing upright as horizontal. The pressure inside the bottle ensures the cork does not shrink and dry out for many years. Champagne is sensitive to light and warmth and should always be stored somewhere dark and cool. Non-Vintage is by far the most popular style of Champagne, representing as it does the producer's house style. The name is rather misleading; Krug's preferred term, 'multi-vintage', is perhaps more appropriate, since an NV will be a blend from a number of vintages. Consistency is crucial, and it is here that the skill of the blender comes to the fore. For centuries, French wines have set standards to inspire winemakers around the world. No other country has France’s long history of fine wine production, which has helped define wine styles around the world. The next two digits refer to the week in the year, in the case above, the 8th week of the year, (February 2015).