Champagne Gosset Blanc de Blancs Celebris Brut 2012

So it turns out, the original Jean Gosset is the oldest recorded ancestor in the Gosset family, born in 1484 – but he didn’t establish the family’s wine merchant business. That was his grandson, Pierre, in Aÿ back in 1584. The next Jean Gosset of the family was born on June 26th (hey, that’s today!), in the year of 1649, and is credited with using the first antique bottle that would eventually become the emblem of the Gosset Champagne house much later, in 1760. So while we don’t know the original Jean Gosset’s birthday (trust me, we searched the interwebs high and low), we’re still dubbing today Gosset Day in honor of the second Jean Gosset, and the generations of Gossets who made the house into the Champagne icon it is today.

The Gosset family worked the land and crafted the wines in the cellar up until 1993, when the family sold it to the Renaud-Cointreau family. Despite numerous offers, the Gosset family chose specifically not to sell to a large ownership group, or corporate wine mogul, selecting instead another long-standing, local wine-focused family to preserve the over 400 years of style, elegance, and family tradition that has made Gosset a standard bearer of the great houses of Champagne.

The quality has continued, and this 2012 Celebris Blanc de Blancs is just fantastic. Leading with aromas of pink grapefruit, wildflowers, and poached pear, this is intense and broad on the initial attack, as lemon crema, apple pie, candied ginger, and star anise wash over the palate, with accents of flint and chalk, pink peppercorns, and cinnamon red hots bringing in a tingly and spiced finish. Power is the name of the game to begin with, but laser-like precision and concentration bends this into a singularly focused wine that finishes with unbound finesse. Cool stuff, to be certain, especially at this price!

This fresh and intense 100% Chardonnay ages on the lees for nine years, lending it the utmost richness and balance. The fruit is sourced from Ambonnay, Avize, Cramant, Cumières, Passy-sur-Marne Trépail, Vertus, Villers-Marmery, and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, and this is the very first vintage Blanc de Blancs the house has ever made, with only 15,000 bottles in production. Rich, powerful, and exceptionally long – this is a wine that is built to last, yet guaranteed to impress even now! We grabbed a few cases, but they are sure to move quickly, so don’t miss out! Celebrate the Gosset way on Jean Gosset’s birthday!