Philipponnat Royale Reserve Brut
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator - Decanter
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Vinous
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Royale Réserve Brut is the purest expression of the House’s style. Deep gold in color with aromas of vine blossom, linden, and toasted bread. Notes of redcurrant, raspberry, and ripe grape. Full-bodied, generous and long. Enhances hot or cold white meats, poultry, and premium charcuterie. An ideal complement to cold buffets, fish, and seafood.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is the nonvintage Champagne from this producer. With its richness and high percentage of Pinot Noir, it reflects the house style. Touches of spice and a light structure give shape to the white fruits. Drink now.
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Wine Spectator
A poised Champagne that shows impeccable balance, integrating a delicate frame of acidity with flavors of black cherry, crushed almond, pickled ginger and candied lemon peel. Reveals a chalky note that lingers on the satiny finish. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
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Decanter
Always open in the exposition of the origins of its wines, Philipponnat has upped the stakes of late by not only adding foudres to its vinification armoury but also increasing volumes from two separate Réserves Perpétuelles. The result is impressive; Pinot power writ large in red fruit and biscuity complexity, with resonance on the back palate, the ensemble still harnessed by disarmingly energetic freshness.
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James Suckling
Walnuts, apricot stones, honey, sourdough and orange fruit here. Creamy and balanced, with a medium body and fine bubbles. Excellent persistency. 67% pinot noir, 31% chardonnay and 2% meunier. 2019 base with 34% reserve wines. Disgorged January 2023. 8g/L dosage.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Based on the 2018 vintage and disgorged in early 2022, the latest rendition of Philipponnat's NV Brut Royale Réserve delivers aromas of crisp pear, stone fruits and fresh bread, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and enveloping palate. Charming and pillowy, it's a giving wine that will show well on release.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A pale silver/straw hue, the NV Champagne Royal Reserve Brut is 67% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, and the rest Meunier from the base vintage of 2019. It was disgorged in January 2023, with 8 grams per liter dosage. It’s fresh and inviting on opening, with balanced aromas of toast, almond, orange blossoms, and raspberry. Medium-bodied, it’s focused and assertive on the palate, with an elegant touch, and it tapers slowly, with a fine mousse and a long finish. This is a versatile entry from Philipponnat.
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Vinous
The NV Brut Royale Réserve (base 2018) is a very pretty, entry-level offering from Philipponnat. Crushed flowers, green pear, spice and a touch of chamomile all grace this soft, open-knit NV Champagne. The blend is 69% Pinot Noir, 28% Chardonnay and 3% Meunier, with 26% reserve wines. Dosage is 8 grams per liter
The Philipponnat family have been growing grapes in Champagne since 1522. The House was founded in 1910 by Pierre Philipponnat. Charles Philipponnat took over as CEO in 1999 and has improved the quality and production vastly by implementing smaller oak barrels, keeping different vineyard plots separate and utilizing only the first press. The jewel in the crown of the House is the historic and iconic 5.5 hectares 'Clos des Goisses' vineyard that sits on a steep, south-facing 45° slope starting at the Marne River. This is one of the warmest vineyard sites in all of Champagne and is planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In 1935 'Clos des Goisses' was the first single vineyard Champagne produced and it would take over 50 years for other Houses to start producing serious Champagne just from a single Clos.
Philipponnat applies natural methods to work the soil, hoeing by hand and plowing with horses. The House's expertise is particularly apparent in its use of the solera process. This technique is a very longstanding House tradition; it consists of keeping reserve wines in oak barrels and including them in non-vintage blends (in a proportion of one quarter to one third) and using this blend as a reserve wine for the following blend.
This progressive dilution allows every bottle to retain a trace of previous years' wines blended since the very beginning. Successive Cellar Masters have attached great importance to handing down this expertise. Philipponnat was the first Champagne House to indicate the main year used in its non-vintage blends, the dosage, and the date of disgorgement on back labels, informing consumers and wine experts of the characteristics of each cuvée.