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Champagne Gosset
Website: https://www.champagne-gosset.com
Gosset is Champagne's oldest wine house founded in Ay in 1584 by Pierre Gosset. In the 18th Century Gosset joined the trend of the area and began making sparkling wines, and it was at this point that the family adapted their unique bottle shape. In 2009 the family purchased a Château in Épernay which is situated on the periphery of the town atop a hill, through some old iron gates and hidden at the end of a winding garden path. It has plenty of rustic charm and the cellars beneath are now home to the main production of Gosset Champagne. Their original Château in Ay is still used for production. In 1994 Champagne Gosset was bought by the Cointreau family who have respectfully acknowledged the prestigious heritage of the house and continue to preserve and protect this character.
Gosset work with around 200 growers, most of whom they have been purchasing grapes from for five generations, having built strong relationships over the years. Most of the fruit used in Gosset Champagne comes from Grand Cru or Premier Cru vineyards and a good proportion from the appellations of Verzy and Verzenay. They only work with sustainable growers and have a reputation for paying well (another reason their growers are so loyal).
Odilon de Varine is currently the cellar master at Gosset and has worked for the winery for about 13 years. For Odilon, wine it all about terroir expression. He tastes, tastes and tastes again. All Crus are fermented separately and blending at Gosset is done blind, so that the focus is always on quality and balance of flavour and not led by preconceptions. Native yeasts are used for fermentation which is carried out at low temperatures and malolactic fermentation is not allowed to take place. The wines are therefore bursting with freshness and the level of acidity is a contributing factor to the extensive life of these wines. Most wines spend around five years ageing on fine lees (all racking is done by hand) and the minimum for their non-vintage blend is three years - as opposed to the legal minimum of eighteen months. Odilon has a very minimal intervention approach in the winery, he is a thinker, a romantic and driven by his desire to capture honest terroir.
Champagne is not always a wine to be popped on special occasions or just as an aperitif - it also has fabulous food pairing potential. Gosset would recommend their Champagnes with Fois Gras and here at OWC we are huge fans of the Grande Reserve paired with fried chicken. Those are just some suggestions, and the versatile nature of their wines makes them perfect partners for tapas/small plate style dining.
