The bright golden yellow 1998 Champagne Clos des Goisses Extra Brut is expressive and noble on opening, with notes of butterscotch, praline, white chocolate, cherry liqueur, and preserved apricot. Pure and ripe on the palate, it has an umami-like richness and is juicy with savory orange oil and grapefruit pith. It has a silky, supple mouthfeel with a refined mousse and a long finish, and it’s maturing wonderfully. Full-bodied, it’s an elegant wine but retains the characteristic power and length of this cuvée a fantastic finish. Saline and earthy, I might prefer to enjoy this over the next few years, but it will have a lot of life. Drink 2023-2033. Raised with cork not crown, it was disgorged in March 2023, with 4.5 grams per liter dosage. Approximately 100 bottles will be released.

A brilliant, complex and broad-ranging nose offers up floral, citrus, yeast and extremely subtle red berry hints that complement perfectly the delicious, restrained and still quite youthful flavors that are very crisp and impressively precise with a medium effervescence on the deep, palate staining and lingering finish. The '98 isn't quite in the league of the superb '96 but it's not far off either and in my view, trumps the '97 and '99 as well.

(disgorged March, 2007) Light gold with a lively mousse. Impressively complex bouquet of citrus, pear, toasted hazelnut, flowers and musky herbs. Fleshy and deep, offering a broad array of orchard and pit fruit flavors along with deeper toffee and butter qualities. A snap of dusty minerals adds vivacity and extends through the palate-staining finish, which leaves floral, mineral and fruit skin notes behind. This is already showing a lot of personality but it has the depth to evolve in bottle for at least another decade.

The estate's 1998 Clos des Goisses could not possibly be more different than the 1999. This is a wonderfully dense, richly-textured Clos des Goisses with a deep, baritone-like expression of fruit. Ripe apricots, honey and flowers flow from the glass, followed by suggestions of smoke, mint and minerals that add further complexity as the wine opens up in the glass. This is a powerful, masculine Clos des Goisses that will repay cellaring although it is awfully hard to resist even at this early stage. The 1998 Clos des Goisses is 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay, partially fermented in oak. This bottle was disgorged in March 2007.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 22/12/2008 The estate’s 1998 Clos des Goisses could not possibly be more different than the 1999. This is a wonderfully dense, richly-textured Clos des Goisses with a deep, baritone-like expression of fruit. Ripe apricots, honey and flowers flow from the glass, followed by suggestions of smoke, mint and minerals that add further complexity as the wine opens up in the glass. This is a powerful, masculine Clos des Goisses that will repay cellaring although it is awfully hard to resist even at this early stage. The 1998 Clos des Goisses is 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay, partially fermented in oak. This bottle was disgorged in March 2007. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2023. Philipponnat makes a wide range of wines but the house’s fame rests squarely on the monumental Clos des Goisses, a Pinot-dominated Champagne that emerges from a 5.5 hectare vineyard in Mareuil-sur-Ay. Oddly enough Clos des Goisses remains a wine for insiders despite a track record few wines can match, as it is one of the most ageworthy Champagnes on the market. Quality throughout the rest of the range is less brilliant. ()

This has always been one of my favourite vintages of Clos des Goisses from the 1990s, yet this bottle feels unexpectedly mature, and a little stern and dried in tone on the palate. There’s a silky texture, and the finish is long and fine, but it feels faded overall, with the fruit a little past its best. Is this an accurate representation, or a poor bottle? Disgorged: February 2008.