The 2009 Extra Brut Blanc de Noirs Les Cintres hails from lieux-dits Les Grands Cintres and Les Petits Cintres in the steep, south-facing part of the Clos des Goisses which is characterized by the thinnest, reddest soils in the vineyard and where the house's oldest vines are planted. Amazingly, the 2009 attained 13.5% alcohol, the highest numbers recorded chez Philipponnat since 1959. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of warm bread, fresh peach, mango and yeast extract, it's full-bodied, thickly textural and vinous, with lively acids—Philipponnat opting to block malolactic fermentation—and a deep, multidimensional core, concluding with a long and powerful finish. This is a broad-shouldered, authoritative wine that may disconcert by virtue of its sheer scale, but it is a potential legend in the making. - William Kelley

The 2009 Les Cintres, from the warmest part of Clos des Goisses, is powerful, ample and creamy, with all of the radiance of 2009 on display. Impeccable in its balance, with better integration of oak than the 2008, the 2009 is hugely promising. That said, readers need to be patient, as the 2009 is in no mood to show all of its cards today. Lemon confit, mint and flowers, along with light tropical overtones, emerge over time, but only with great reluctance. Dosage is 4.5 grams per liter. Disgorged: March, 2019. -- Antonio Galloni

Les Cintres is a small plot inside Clos des Goisses in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, one of the warmest sites in Champagne. This has a very expressive nose with white pepper, spice and delicate smoky notes. Being 100% oaked and with no malolactic fermentation, this broad-shouldered wine reveals excellent up front intensity in its ripe yellow fruit. 2009 is the third opus of Les Cintres, after 2006 and 2008.

A finely knit Champagne, plushly creamy in texture and offering an intriguing mesh of black cherry and tangerine fruit, ashy mineral, black tea leaf, honeycomb and lime blossom flavors. A subtle, understated version, harmonious throughout and slowly expanding through the long finish. Disgorged March 2019. Drink now through 2034. — A.N.