Champagne Gosset launches prestige cuvée

Champagne Gosset - the oldest wine house in Champagne, Aÿ, 1584 - has launched its latest prestige cuvée - Gosset Celebris Extra Brut Vintage 1998 – one of its finest vintages in recent years.

In the classic Gosset style, this extra brut has been produced without malolactic fermentation and with minimal dosage (just 3.5 g/l). It comprises meticulously selected grapes taken only from grand crus stock (64 per cent chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs, and 36 per cent pinot noir from the Grande Vallée de la Marne and the Montagne de Reims). With its wealth of intense flavour, it is a brilliant example of the very best characteristics of champagne, in the true style of the house of Gosset, in a tradition which has been faithfully maintained since the 16th Century.

It is beautifully packaged in a striking gold cylindrical casket with a pearl effect leatherette finish and sliding shutters. These are held together by an engraved clasp denoting the house monogram, and they slide open to reveal the distinctive Champagne Gosset bottle. It is a bottle which is an exact replica of an antique flacon discovered in Australia’s Port Phillip Bay in a shipwrecked 1841 vessel.

Visually, according to executive director for Champagne Gosset Odilon de Varine, Gosset Celebris Extra Brut Vintage 1998 displays “a concentrated, luminous, pale golden hue dappled with intense, fleeting flickers of green and amber reflections. On the nose, there are instant floral notes, echoing delicate spring blossoms, such as hawthorn, privet, jasmine, orange flower and then fruitier notes of peach, poached pear, dried apricots and quince. After swirling, the bouquet evolves to dried hay, lemon verbena, and light tobacco.”

Rich, full and pure, the flavours fluctuate elegantly between the delicacy of the chardonnay and the structure of the pinor noir. It is perfectly balanced, yet complex. On the palate it expands into vanilla, toasted almonds, with notes of patisserie, a hint of toast, moka coffee, light caramel and aged golden rum. And finally, magnificently fresh and long in the mouth, the sensations are pure, without austerity, and fruity, without extravagance.

This champagne is a perfect accompaniment to any good canapé: caviar; a slice of fine air-dried ham, or even an oriental touch such as sushi or sashimi. It will perfectly match poultry or goat’s cheese and for dessert it will be a sublime partner to roast pineapple with ginger ice cream or any exotic fresh fruit.

Gosset Celebris Extra Brut Vintage 1998 is distributed in the UK exclusively by McKinley Vintners (Mckinleyvintners.co.uk ). It retails for around £110-120 a bottle and is available from Harrods, Selfridge’s, Fortnum & Mason and other fine wine stores nationally.