Five Centuries of History.
Apvril Le Philipponnat, the Swiss captain who settled in Ay in the 16th century, was the owner of Le Léon, where the company still cultivates its vines today. Official records mention this as early as 1522. This year was therefore chosen as the symbolic date of the Philipponnat family’s establishment in the Champagne region and the origin of the sixteen succeeding generations. The 1522 cuvées bear witness to this long tradition.
The blend of Grands Crus that make up these wines is composed of Pinot Noir from the historic parcels in Le Léon, enhanced by a Grand Cru from the northern Montagne de Reims, and another from the Côte des Blancs, generally Mailly and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, vinified for the most part in wooden barrels without malolactic fermentation. 1522 is thus the result of Champagne’s three great chalk terroirs, with minerality, complexity and balance. Each bottle of 1522, dosed extra-brut (4 g/l), is aged in the cellar for six to eight years, until it reaches its peak.
1522 Blanc
An early engraving of the village of Ay adorns the 1522 label. Ay has been home to the Philipponnat family for five centuries, and certainly produces the most remarkable Pinot Noir cru with the most marked minerality in the whole of Champagne. It takes this characteristic to the extreme, right down to the spices: from ginger in cooler years to chilli in hotter ones, transitioning through the many nuances of pepper from white to black.
1522 Rosé
1522 Rosé is a Premier Cru. It owes its colour to the inclusion of red Mareuil wine or rosé de saignée from Clos des Goisses vines. The light tannins of Pinot Noir give it a vigour that combines with its natural acidity to restrain and preserve its fruity aromas, further accentuating its slightly spicy character.
