Champagne Philipponnat

Champagne Philipponnat is a French Champagne house and wine brand based in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. Its commercial identity is closely connected to the Philipponnat family, whose presence in Champagne is documented over several centuries. The house describes its heritage not as a reason to remain fixed in the past, but as a foundation for renewal and continued attention to its roots, terroir and preferred grape variety, Pinot Noir. The company’s modern foundation is commonly dated to 1910; the supplied historical account records the establishment of Philipponnat Frères in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ in 1913 by brothers Auguste and Pierre Philipponnat. The house makes Champagne wines and emphasizes vineyard work, fruit maturity and concentration, and a craft-oriented approach to production. Its historic vineyard Clos des Goisses, in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, is central to the brand’s identity. The steep, south-facing vineyard overlooking the Marne was acquired by Pierre Philipponnat in 1935. In 1951, the house first made a vintage wine exclusively from its grapes, an early single-vineyard Champagne. The company also owns vineyards in the region and supplements its grape supply through purchases from growers in Champagne areas including the Côte des Blancs, Vallée de la Marne and Montagne de Reims. Philipponnat has developed an international export business and today operates within the Lanson-BCC group, which acquired the house in 1997. Charles Philipponnat has led the house since 2000, according to the supplied French-language account. Its public presentation highlights respect for time, responsible practices and the long-term value of its Champagne heritage. The winery offers appointment-based tasting experiences in Champagne. The evidence supplied does not specify a complete current product catalogue or a full list of the brand’s destination markets.

The Philipponnat family’s connection with Champagne predates the modern wine house by centuries. The supplied French-language history records the family’s presence in Aÿ from 1518 and cites a 1522 donation document naming Apvril Le Philipponnat as a landowner in Dizy. The family is described as originating in Fribourg, Switzerland. Its coat of arms was registered in 1698, and family members held local civic roles in Aÿ in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The family was involved in making and selling wine by the eighteenth century; a document from 1804 records the sale of wine from that year’s first pressing. In the nineteenth century, Auguste Philipponnat took over his father-in-law’s Champagne wine business in Aÿ, expanding the family’s commercial activity. His grandson Philippe Charles Philipponnat combined vineyard ownership with wine trading. Label books, according to the supplied account, attest to récoltant-manipulant activity in the 1850s and 1860s. The modern house is associated with 1910 as its founding year. The more detailed chronology states that Auguste and Pierre Philipponnat established Philipponnat Frères in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ on 1 July 1913. Later that month, the company acquired the business of Albert Valet & Cie, including its registered brand and cellars beneath the château of Mareuil. Cellar master Louis Boland, a pharmacist and biologist by training, was appointed in 1913. The account credits him with establishing Champagne’s first oenological laboratory and selecting early Champagne yeasts for the house. He remained cellar master until 1962. After Auguste died in 1918, Pierre took sole charge; the company adopted the name P. Philipponnat & C° in 1922. A defining chapter began in 1935, when Pierre Philipponnat acquired Clos des Goisses, a vineyard of approximately 5.5 hectares on a steep slope above the Marne at Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. The plot, previously partly neglected after the phylloxera crisis and the First World War, was assembled from several owners and replanted as a single holding. The house made its first vintage cuvée exclusively from the vineyard’s grapes in 1951. The supplied history describes this as the creation of what is considered Champagne’s first single-vineyard wine. The Clos was enlarged in 2007. Following Pierre Philipponnat’s death in 1963, his son-in-law Michel Collard, who had joined the company in 1946, led the house until 1987. During his tenure, Philipponnat developed exports, notably to Italy around 1979–1980. By 1987, the house was producing 600,000 bottles, twice its pre-war output, according to the supplied account. The house was acquired by Financière Globe in 1986 and subsequently passed into the Marie Brizard group. Boizel Chanoine Champagne acquired it in 1997; that group became Lanson-BCC in 2010. Charles Philipponnat took charge of the house in 2000. The supplied history also records that Philipponnat received HVE level 3 certification in 2013. Today the brand remains associated with its Mareuil-sur-Aÿ roots, Champagne wines, Pinot Noir and Clos des Goisses, and is part of Lanson-BCC.

• 2013

  Philipponnat receives HVE level 3 certification

• 2010

  Boizel Chanoine Champagne becomes Lanson-BCC

• 2007

  Clos des Goisses is enlarged

• 2000

  Charles Philipponnat takes charge of the house

• 1997

  Boizel Chanoine Champagne acquires the house

• 1986

  The house is acquired by Financière Globe

• 1951

  First vintage cuvée made exclusively from Clos des Goisses grapes

• 1935

  Pierre Philipponnat acquires Clos des Goisses

• 1922

  The company adopts the name P. Philipponnat & C°

• 1913

  Philipponnat Frères established in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ; the company acquired Albert Valet & Cie’s business

• 1910

  Modern Champagne Philipponnat house founded

• 1804

  A document records family wine sales

• 1698

  The family coat of arms is registered

• 1522

  A document names Apvril Le Philipponnat as a landowner in Dizy

• 1518

  Philipponnat family presence in Aÿ documented

A terroir-focused Champagne house with a craft-oriented identity, a long family heritage and particular emphasis on Pinot Noir and Clos des Goisses.

• Champagne wines

  The house produces Champagne wines and highlights vineyard work, fruit maturity and concentration.

• Clos des Goisses

  A historic vineyard and single-vineyard Champagne associated with the house; its first exclusive vintage cuvée was made in 1951.

1. 1Champagne d’exception | Philipponnatphilipponnat.com
2. 2Champagne Philipponnatfr.wikipedia.org
3. 3Champagne Philipponnatwikidata.org