Christian Gosset

Rosé Extra-Brut Champagne A04

Christian Gosset Rosé Extra-Brut Champagne A04

Champagne Christian Gosset is a new endeavor by one of the most experienced winemakers and family names synonymous with quality in the village of Aÿ in the Vallée de la Marne. The Christian Gosset style is aromatic, powerful, and structured, but always in search of finesse and elegance, with a common thread of verticality, precision, and intensity. Christian Gosset crafts gastronomic Champagnes designed to elevate world-class cuisine with a trademark long, complex finish. 

Gosset’s pinot noir vines have a high average age (45+ years) and are naturally low-yielding, giving very concentrated grapes with great character and identity. Vineyards are in prime locations in the middle of the Aÿ terroir, on the tops of the hills with southwestern exposure. Aÿ is a succession of small valleys with different altitudes, slopes, and soils and, therefore, a great diversity of terroirs in a very small area. Aÿ is often the source of Champagne’s most powerful pinot noir-based wines, being at a lower altitude than those of Bouzy and Ambonnay.

Christian Gosset Champagne Rosé Extra-Brut A04 is a blend of two key Grands Cru vineyards from the 2019 vintage: 87% pinot noir from Aÿ in the Vallée de la Marne and 13% chardonnay from Chouilly in the Côte des Blancs. 

The Champagne Rosé Extra-Brut A04 is aromatic and expressive on the nose, reminiscent of red fruit, mushrooms, fresh cream, and candied raspberries. It is serious and structured on the palate with a very long, vinous finish and tons of umami. A creamy mousse and food-friendly acidity are complemented by light tannins on the finish. This wine is a classic, food-friendly style of Champagne rosé with robust color and structure that will improve in bottle.

Vinification – Each plot is hand-picked and vinified separately in barrel. Winemaking is low-impact and low-intervention, with the pressing done at Christian Gosset’s neighbor Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy’s winery in a traditional Coquard basket press. The coeur de cuvée arrives by gravity into Christian Gosset’s cellar, directly into the enamel-lined vinification vats, where it undergoes alcoholic fermentation. As he says, “let the wines ferment quietly, and then we meet again in July for the bottling.” For the Rosé Extra-Brut, he blends 10% Coteaux Champenois red wine from pinot noir grapes that have been vinified in oak Burgundy barrels, around the following June, before bottling and secondary fermentation. The wines age for a minimum of three years on the lees. The naming standards for his non-vintage Rosé Extra Brut reflect his organized and pragmatic approach, with A01 being his first assemblage, containing base wine from 2016 (his first vintage); subsequently, his A04 is based on the 2019 vintage.

  • Villages: Aÿ in the Vallée de la Marne and Chouilly in the Côte des Blancs

  • Grapes: 87% Pinot Noir / 13% Chardonnay

  • Base Vintage: 2019

  • Vine Age: Over 45 years old

  • Soil: Chalk

  • Vinification: Pressing in basket press, alcoholic fermentation with native yeasts in enamel-lined vats

  • Malolactic Fermentation: Spontaneous

  • Secondary Fermentation: Méthode Champenoise with liqueur de tirage

  • Aging: 36 months on the lees, sur lattes

  • Disgorgement: October 2022

  • Dosage: 1g/L

  • Filtration: None

  • Farming: Practicing Organic, Certified Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE) Level 3

  • Vegan: Yes

  • Suggested Retail: $111.00 (750mL)