Frapin and Gosset

Ever since Jim reluctantly relinquished the annual ritual of installing (if not consecrating) our Christmas window display, putting it in has become for me very nearly the start of Christmas. However the real beginning of our run-up to the big day is the appearance of Gosset Champagne and Frapin Cognac on our Friday tasting bench.

Gosset is the oldest wine house in Champagne, having been in existence for nigh on 200 years prior to the legalisation of the eponymous beverage. Chardonnay is the dominant grape variety at this address and there is no malolactic fermentation allowed. Quality is very high and the balance and age of the wines is fine and high.

From the Frapin range we will taste their VSOP, which in normal Cognac life easily qualifies as XO status. At this level you will get a real sense of the depth of pure chalk on which it's grown. It also reveals the mellow character that comes with actual age, not just the adding of caramel. /CW