Gosset Grand Millésime 2016 is a beautifully poised vintage Champagne that combines the freshness and precision of the house style with the extra depth and concentration of an excellent harvest. Chardonnay leads the blend at 61%, bringing finesse, citrus lift and a fine mineral edge, while 39% Pinot Noir adds structure, ripe fruit and savoury depth. The result is elegant rather than overtly powerful: fennel, star anise and a touch of mint appear first, followed by poached pear, Mirabelle plum, Reinette apple, nougat and almond as the wine opens. On the palate there is real density through the middle, but Gosset’s naturally firm acidity keeps everything beautifully focused, with rhubarb-like tartness and a delicate bitterness carrying the finish. The dosage is just 4g/L, giving a very dry, precise feel despite the wine officially being presented by Gosset as Brut. Produced from a selection of Premier and Grand Cru villages and cellared from June 2017, it is already showing lovely complexity but remains remarkably youthful for a decade-old Champagne. This is a wine that works as well with food as it does on its own, and it has more than enough freshness to continue evolving for years.

Gosset Grand Millésime, Producer

Maison Gosset is one of the great historic names of Champagne and traces its origins back to 1584, when Pierre Gosset established a wine business in Aÿ. At that time Champagne was still primarily a region of still wines, making Gosset the oldest wine house in Champagne rather than simply one of the oldest sparkling-wine producers. The house remained in family hands for generations before becoming part of the Renaud-Cointreau group in the 1990s, and today its wines are made under cellar master Odilon de Varine. The Gosset philosophy is deliberately wine-focused: depth, vinosity and freshness are given priority over overtly showy mousse or sweetness, and the house has long been associated with a style that retains strong natural acidity and develops slowly in bottle. Grand Millésime is made only when a particular harvest is considered worthy of being shown on its own, so rather than trying to reproduce exactly the same profile each year, Gosset allows the vintage to speak through the filter of the house style. For 2016, the emphasis is on the elegance and richness of Chardonnay balanced by the structure and fruit of Pinot Noir.

Gosset Grand Millésime 2016, Terroir & Winemaking

The blend comes from a broad selection of highly regarded Champagne villages, including Ambonnay, Aÿ, Chamery, Cramant, Mailly, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Passy, Pierry, Trépail and Vertus, bringing together both Chardonnay- and Pinot Noir-dominant terroirs. The final composition is 61% Chardonnay and 39% Pinot Noir, an unusually Chardonnay-led structure for a house often associated with Pinot-driven vinosity. The 2016 growing season was one of strong contrasts: the first part of summer was cool, while the end of the season turned warm, dry and sunny, allowing the grapes to finish ripening under much more favourable conditions. Gosset summarises the year with the old Champagne saying that July makes the bouquet and August makes the must, a neat way of describing how the vintage combines aromatic freshness with ripe fruit concentration.

The wine was bottled at the end of the spring following harvest and placed into the cellars in June 2017. Gosset does not publish one fixed disgorgement date for every bottle of this release, but it does specify that after disgorgement each bottle returns to the cellar for at least another six months so the dosage can fully integrate. The dosage itself is only 4g/L, which is particularly restrained for a wine carrying the Brut designation and helps preserve the freshness, fruit and vinous character of the Champagne. Gosset’s broader house style is also strongly associated with avoiding malolactic fermentation, preserving firmer natural acidity and helping explain the remarkable freshness of its mature wines.

Gosset Grand Millésime 2016, Tasting Notes

Pale golden yellow with a fine, delicate mousse. The nose initially feels fresh and savoury rather than overtly fruity, with fennel, star anise and a cool minty note immediately apparent. As the wine warms slightly in the glass, it becomes much more generous, revealing poached pear, almond and nougat alongside ripe orchard fruit. The palate opens elegantly before building in volume, with Mirabelle plum, Reinette apple and tart rhubarb bringing both ripeness and brightness. There is a lovely density through the centre of the wine, but the acidity remains very clear, preventing it from feeling broad or heavy. The finish is dry, precise and slightly bitter in a very attractive way, with almond, citrus and mineral notes lingering alongside the fruit. That fine bitterness is something Gosset itself associates with the Grand Cru component of the blend and gives the Champagne a particularly gastronomic feel.

Gosset Grand Millésime, Food pairing suggestion: Roast Pork Tenderloin with Fennel, Apple and Mustard Cream.