For about 500 years, the Philipponnat family has tended vines in Champagne. Their wares have been supplied to the courts of Kings and Queens, and the house has set a number of trends into motion – from revealing the primary vintages used in non-vintage blends, to including dosage levels and disgorgement dates on their back label (which we massively appreciate!), and even making Champagne’s very first single-named vineyard Champagne offering with their revered Clos des Goisses bottling nearly a century ago.

Today, the estate is run by Charles Philipponnat – the latest generation in the long-enduring and historic Champagne family. He took over running the estate in 1999, and Philipponnat has enjoyed perhaps its most successful era to date under his supervision. His father was the revered chef de caves at Moët from 1949 to 1977 – crafting the iconic 1961 Dom Pérignon, among others, during his tenure there. You could argue that great Champagne is simply in their blood, and after one sip of this – we’d have to strongly agree!

Philipponnat  farms 20 hectares of vines that are split among a few premier and grand cru villages in Champagne: Ay, Mareuil-sur-Ay and Avenay. The team classifies this bottling as the “purest expression of the house style,” with grapes sourced mainly from their finest plots of Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards across Champagne, with a consistent focus on pinot noir from their home base of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. The base wine from the 2019 vintage is all made from first-pressed juice and incorporates 25% to 35% reserve wine from the house's perpetual solera system that is reblended each year to maintain freshness and minerality.

This compelling blend uses some 67% pinot noir, 31% chardonnay, and 2% pinot meunier to craft a round, toasty, and perfumed offering that seamlessly balances opulence with elegance. After aging 3 years on the lees, it’s finished with a Brut level dosage of 8 grams per liter. Peonies and roses pull you into the glass, where cherries and plums showcase the pinot-dominant core, and the sweet reserve perfume grants a kiss of Fino sherry and a salty umeboshi tang to build layers of complexity and mouthfeel. The finish is slow to arrive, and longer still to leave – soft, dry, and infused with a chalky minerality that lingers beautifully. This is as classy and elegant as you’ll find in under $50 Champagne – especially from any of the large Maisons. Weave some of this unparalleled joy into your days with your own collection of Philipponnat’s extraordinary Royale Reserve Brut! A royal Champagne with a decidedly pauper-like price just makes us smile.