TN: Comprehensive Selosse

Guillaume and Rose

  • NV Guillaume Selosse Champagne Cramant Extra Brut Lieu-dit Au dessus du Gros Mont - France, Champagne
    Disgorged December 2016. The nose here immediately evokes Dom, with its reductive punch, followed by a bit of sweet florals and citrus. This is clearly a white-fruit inflected champagne, but with a sensation of sweetness that might be coming from the oak. “Lemon chiffon cake,” someone remarked. I can’t disagree. As far as blanc de blancs goes, this is a very rich style, and even though it’s very broad, it’s not a heavy wine. As a side note, this doesn’t seem have the oxidative weight that the father’s wines have. (93 pts.)
  • NV Guillaume Selosse Champagne Ville-sur-Arce Largiller Extra Brut - France, Champagne
    Disgorged July 2017. There’s more reduction here than the Au dessus du Gros Mont, and with the pinot noir, also a fairly intense whiff of earthy funk. Some mushroom elements are present here as well. As with its sibling, this doesn’t have that hefty oxidative element that you would expect. The palate shows some fresh fruit and there’s a little bit of a spicy quality that you sometimes pick up from super young champagnes. There isn’t an overt sweetness here, and the oak doesn’t seem to be as prominent. The fruit profile does come off a little tart – I noted some slightly underripe apricots. Overall, this is a little simple right now, but I suspect the material for aging is here, and I’d love to see where this goes with more time. (93 pts.)
  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Rosé - France, Champagne
    Disgorged July 2016. Just as I remember it. This is probably one of the best bottles of rose champagne in the market to my palate, but it’s one that is incredibly stylized. Earthy, oxidative elements on the nose, almost to the point of bitterness (but not quite). It’s initially not too expressive – this is a wine that expands and becomes deeper with air. Lots and lots of acidity that is balanced by the sheer amount of extract in this wine. Concentrated, and almost tannic. Always a pleasure. (93 pts.)

Lieux-dits BdB

  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Les Carelles - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    Disgorged February 2017. Well, given where it comes from, this is the cuvee that ought to be a little Salon-like. There’s definitely Selosse stylization here, but I kind of do see a bit of the white fruit aromas and raw power here. One of my favourite wines of the evening, this has pretty much everything I want in a champagne. It strikes an amazing balance between the fresh acidity, the mild oxidative tones, the intense minerality, a slight bready quality, and sweet and sour fruit. Light on its feet, this has a powerful linear drive on the palate, but has the concentration to provide breadth as well. (93 pts.)
  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra-Brut Les Chantereines - France, Champagne
    Disgorged February 2017. Surprisingly a very generous amount of mushroom on the nose here; could have called this a blend if I were tasting it blind. That sort earthy mushroom quality follows through on the palate, though it’s not as prominent. Overall, this is an example that I found to have a lot of breadth, but wasn’t as well integrated as the others in the flight. All the right elements were here and all the boxes were ticked, but they didn’t integrate in the same way the Carelles did. Nor did this really have that potent acidic drive. Mind you, it’s not a bottle I would kick off the table. (93 pts.)
  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Cramant Chemins de Châlons - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    Disgorged February 2017. This bottle was the middle ground for me between the Carelles and the Chantereines. There’s a distinct kiss of oak here that I didn’t find as prominent in the other two wines, and overall the fruit profile here is a little riper, which leads to just a slight perception of sweetness. The oxidative elements here also create a bit of a caramelly touch, though it doesn’t seem out of place, given the slight nuttiness and intense acidity. This bottle seemed to improve the most with air too, picking up more all-round complexity. (93 pts.)

“Base”

  • NV Jacques Selosse Initial - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    Disgorged November 2017. Independently, this is one of my favourite “entry-level” champagnes, but coming off the flight of Lieux-dits BdBs, it’s pretty obvious that this wine is a huge step down in terms of complexity and concentration. There’s a mild hint of oxidation on the nose here, which is carried on the palate as well. The fruit profile is simple, with a bit of sweetness. Crisp acids, and without a doubt a well-made champagne, but this (perhaps rightly) just can’t hit the highs of the other wines. (93 pts.)
  • NV Jacques Selosse V.O. Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    Disgorged April 2018. An obvious step up from the Initial, with a slightly more oxidative quality. There’s some clear brown apple elements here. Something about the palate here feels kind of brown as well, but there’s also this rich, chalky texture and a fair amount of acid as well. There’s some bitter citrus components here that are actually quite pleasant – I think this might be a candidate for the wine that comes the closest to sherry, as there is also a slight salinity here. (93 pts.)
  • NV Jacques Selosse Substance - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    Disgorged November 2017. Alongside the nutty oxidative elements is a fume of reductiveness that goes away when you swirl this a lot. Of the “base” cuvees, this was my favourite, as it clearly showed the most complexity and depth. If you really want to get an idea of what Selosse is about, I think this would be the most archetypical example. The breadth and power, coupled with the brown, nutty, oxidative elements, but with acidity that is so vibrant and zesty… (93 pts.)

Vintage

  • 2002 Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Millésimé - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    I’m not sure that this bottle was perfectly sound; the colour was clearly darker than its younger siblings, and to be perfectly honest, this didn’t taste anywhere as intense and fresh as I remember it (my last note on this was around five years ago). A concerning touch of caramel on the palate here – while there are acids, there isn’t that liveliness that I want. It’s a bit nutty and browned, and while it’s certainly drinkable (and if I’m to be honest, quite enjoyable), I remember clearly how much I loved this wine, and this wasn’t it. (93? pts.)
  • 2003 Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Millésimé - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    This was pretty much as I remember it from a few years ago. It’s a hefty, rich champagne, that doesn’t show any signs of the overripeness of the vintage. It’s certainly one of the densest wines tonight, and shows a fairly intense oxidative characteristic; more so than most of the wines tonight. It’s large-scaled, this is a wine that is more breadth than length, but that’s not to say it’s lacking in acidity. For such a tough vintage, I think this is a wine that speaks true to the producer style and to the vintage. I don’t think this will ever be as good as the 2004 or 2005 (or a good bottle of the 2002), but it’s a monumental champagne from a vintage where there wasn’t any. (93 pts.)
  • 2004 Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Millésimé - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    From magnum. Without a doubt one of my favourites of the evening. 2004 is such a chardonnay vintage, and this is such a case in point. The oxidative style seems to be attenuated here, and instead you get this powerful white-fruit-driven freshness alongside a slight hint of florals and that amazing chalky minerality – so much so it’s mouth-puckering and drying. But at the same time, despite all this raw power, this wine strikes a bit of a diminutive form; this isn’t the wine with the most breadth on the palate at all. It’s more subtle and elegant. (93 pts.)
  • 2005 Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Millésimé - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    This felt a little too young to grok. The nose had a slight reduction, and it felt as if there was still some bottling funk that needed to be worked off. Like the 2004, this is a fairly delicate and gentle champagne, and doesn’t have the massive breadth that the 2003 has. The oxidative quality is here, but again isn’t the primary note in this wine. The fruit comes off more as pears and apples, and there’s a slight sweetness on the palate from the fruit. Overall, still complex and intense, but needs a bit of time to shed some of the sweet fruit baby fat and knit itself together. (93 pts.)

Lieux-dits BdN

  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Ambonnay Le Bout du Clos - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    Disgorged February 2017. Of the pinot flight, this was for me the most sensuous and luscious. The nose is heady, with this rich mushroom broth element, as well as some sweet citrus and a slight bit of bread. It’s definitely got the oxidative nutty elements as well. The palate, even though the nose seems to indicate all these umami elements, is lifted, with beautifully fresh acidity, and a lightness that gives this a really silky quality. (93 pts.)
  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Ay La Côte Faron - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    Disgorged February 2017. I think overall, this has been a bit of a dud based on my older notes of this wine, and in the context of the rest of the lineup this evening. The nose here again has a mild mushroomy quality, along with the usual oxidative elements. But the palate here isn’t integrated well, and the palate comes off a little lean when I would expect more richness. There’s a bit of green apple here, which makes me wonder if this has a slight underripeness. With air, this did pick up more complexity, adding a bit of spice to the nose. (93 pts.)
  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Premier Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Mareuil-sur-Ay Sous le Mont - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
    Disgorged February 2017. This was my second favourite of the pinot flight. Again, this didn’t seem to show the integration that the Bout du Clos had; it was overall a bit clunky again. There’s the typical Selosse oxidative elements here, as well as a mild dose of browned apple and mushroom, but on the palate, the elements don’t seem to mesh together well. Perhaps a little prickly at this point? This also smoothed over some rough edges with air, and in hindsight I wonder if decanting or opening the bottles earlier would have helped. (93 pts.)

Finale

  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Cuvée Exquise - France, Champagne
    Disgorged April 2017. Fantastic stuff as always. You think it’s going to be sweet, but it really isn’t. The sugar seems to give this a really creamy texture instead. The Selosse oxidation isn’t here; this is more an exercise in white fruit and cream and chalk. Impeccably balanced, for me, this wine is all about the texture, and it’s absolutely lovely. Very unique, not just in the Selosse stable, but probably across champagne. (93 pts.)
  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Rosé - France, Champagne
    Disgorged July 2016. We opened a second bottle of this for dessert. I’ll admit, it’s not a great pairing with chocolate (but no wine is). Nonetheless, this was pretty much consistent with the apertif bottle – the intense earthiness and red berries, with chalky intensity and tons of acid on the palate. (93 pts.)

Despite collecting the wines for years, this was the first time I’ve ever had more than a handful of Selosse wines at a single go. It was fascinating. It’s trite to say that the house style is oxidative, but I can’t think of another word that captures the common thread that runs through all the wines. Beyond that, there’s a richness and concentration that almost feels VVF like. Or perhaps VVF light. What is it that gives the wines this depth? It’s got to be more than just oak and picking ripe, right?

In retrospect, I wish we had heeded Adrian’s suggestion to open the wines earlier, and maybe we should have decanted them even. In this setting, with small pours for all, there wasn’t much of a chance to see how the wines evolve. Perhaps next time.

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I’d have to say it’s Selosse not to have been there.

I think “oxidative” is short-hand for the entire house style – the ripe fruit, the nutty qualities, the concentration, the oak…

With the younger wines, I think air is a friend; on the other hand, the older disgorgements of Selosse already tend to show far more oxidative qualities, so I’m not sure air is as beneficial.

Wow. Clearly, a memorable event.

Thanks for the notes.


-mark

Anyone know how one determines the base vintage on the “base” bottles like Substance?

I’m working from memory, but I don’t think Selosse puts the base vintage on the label. Substance doesn’t really have a base vintage anyway. It’s a true solera, dating back to 1986. But the youngest / newest year is about 20-25% of the volume of the Solera, per Antonio Galloni. Since Substance spends about six years on the lees, you count back from the disgorgement date, which is on the label. So, the youngest / newest year in the most recent disgorgements from late 2018 would be 2011 or maybe 2012.

Paging Brad Baker…

No easy way to determine the vintages or base vintage in an NV Selosse wine. The disgorgement date can give you an educated guess, but is probably only 75% accurate. Most 2018 disgorgements of Substance are 2011 base, but not all. The timing of releases, base vintages, and disgorgements was much easier prior to the theft he experienced a few years back. That threw things off as releases had to be moved up to meet promised deliveries.

For any non-vintage declared wine, the goal of Anselme was to not stress the vintage or climate of a year, but rather the terroir. This was the point he wanted to make with his solera and perpetual reserve type wines (Substance, Lieux-Dits). Obviously, all releases differ, but with time, the hope was that the terroir or sense of place would always trump the base wine.

Thanks Brad and Andrew. I just picked up an 07 disgorgment I’m curious to try.

A shame that the 2002 was an off bottle. It was stunning at HDH a few years ago.

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Fred,

You very likely have a 1999 base vintage Substance (90%+ certainty).

I remember sharing that bottle. Going into this dinner I had high expectations based on my memory of that…