Disgorged in April 2021 with the usual 4.5 grams per liter dosage, Philipponnat's 2012 Extra-Brut Clos des Goisses offers up generous aromas of pear, pomelo and peach mingled with hints of honeycomb, macadamia nut and fresh bread. Full-bodied, broad and vinous, it's fleshy and textural, with a strikingly concentrated core of fruit, compelling mid-palate plenitude, bright acids and a pillowy pinpoint mousse. Demonstrative, even dramatic, its youthful generosity is deceptive, as it's only with some bottle age that real complexity will emerge.

By William Kelley January 2022