Disgorged May 2021, 3.5 g/L dosage. A little thin in depth and concentration on the palate, but overall very nice broad texture, likely due to the oak aging. Very pleasant and easy to drink, with an intense chalkiness that is quite enjoyable too.
Surprisingly the most mature of all four vintages. The nose initially has a bit of a Martinelli's apple juice thing going on, and there's unfortunately a little more brown than I would like. Quite mature on the palate as well, and the acid profile is somewhat reminiscent as well of a bottle of Champagne from the early 2000s with its slightly darker qualities (this wine was also darker in the glass than the others). With air, this did tighten up, but on the palate, this failed to reach the same weighty complexity and depth of the other three vintages. The unanimous last place wine at the table.
While this was undoubtedly a fantastic bottle of Champagne, I think I was still somewhat disappointed in it because given the vintage, I was hoping for fireworks (even if a different colour) akin to the 2008. The nose here is sweeter, and shows ripe fruit very prominently. On the palate, there's a slightly creamy texture and a distinctly lower acid profile. The warm vintage shows through very clearly here in how fruit-forward this is relative to the other wines. With air, the texture did tighten up and you got more chalky chew on the back end. At the end of the day, I was a tossup between this and the 2007 for the second and third place wines -- they seemed to have strengths and deficiencies in their own way and depending on the moment I wanted one or the other.
We had clearly learned our lesson the last time, and we took very minute initial pours (actually, we did this with all four wines) because it has been so clear that these wines benefit so greatly with incredibly generous amounts of air. And I think the experience of this bottle and last were the same -- it started slightly mute and with just lots of tense acidity, and then it just got more and more expressive in the glass. The acid profile on this is perfect; it is so well-balanced in comparison with the concentration and intensity on the palate. Without a doubt one of the greatest Champagnes of the last 30-40 years. I'd absolutely love to try this with a little more bottle age, but I've been lucky enough to have been able to try this twice already. The unanimous best wine of the lineup.
For me, it was always a flip-flop between whether I preferred this or the 2009. In contrast to the 2009, this has far more acid-driven tension, though at the expensive of the opulent fruit. It's a little more simplistic than the 2008 as well, though for the most part all the parts were there, even if it felt like this was driven more by the acid than having a balance across all the components of the wine (like the 2008). Again with air, this was a wine that tightened up significantly; there was more structure and minerality with air. Not quite as impressive as my prior experience with this wine, mostly because it was overshadowed by the absolutely brilliant 2008.
A very classic showing of a stellar bottle of left-bank Bordeaux. Classic Haut-Brion nose with its minerality shining through so prominently here. Some mature cedar notes, and the fruit shows more black than red; it's definitely on the riper side, and showing good secondary characteristics. In fact, this is sitting in a spot where I think Bordeaux drinks very nicely to me. A real treat to have this and a steak as a contrast with all the Selosse bottlings today.
NV Minière F & R Champagne Absolu Blanc De Blancs Brut 88 Points
France, Champagne
Disgorged May 2021, 3.5 g/L dosage. A little thin in depth and concentration on the palate, but overall very nice broad texture, likely due to the oak aging. Very pleasant and easy to drink, with an intense chalkiness that is quite enjoyable too.
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2010 Jacques Selosse Millésimé 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Surprisingly the most mature of all four vintages. The nose initially has a bit of a Martinelli's apple juice thing going on, and there's unfortunately a little more brown than I would like. Quite mature on the palate as well, and the acid profile is somewhat reminiscent as well of a bottle of Champagne from the early 2000s with its slightly darker qualities (this wine was also darker in the glass than the others). With air, this did tighten up, but on the palate, this failed to reach the same weighty complexity and depth of the other three vintages. The unanimous last place wine at the table.
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2009 Jacques Selosse Millésimé 95 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
While this was undoubtedly a fantastic bottle of Champagne, I think I was still somewhat disappointed in it because given the vintage, I was hoping for fireworks (even if a different colour) akin to the 2008. The nose here is sweeter, and shows ripe fruit very prominently. On the palate, there's a slightly creamy texture and a distinctly lower acid profile. The warm vintage shows through very clearly here in how fruit-forward this is relative to the other wines. With air, the texture did tighten up and you got more chalky chew on the back end. At the end of the day, I was a tossup between this and the 2007 for the second and third place wines -- they seemed to have strengths and deficiencies in their own way and depending on the moment I wanted one or the other.
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2008 Jacques Selosse Millésimé 98 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
We had clearly learned our lesson the last time, and we took very minute initial pours (actually, we did this with all four wines) because it has been so clear that these wines benefit so greatly with incredibly generous amounts of air. And I think the experience of this bottle and last were the same -- it started slightly mute and with just lots of tense acidity, and then it just got more and more expressive in the glass. The acid profile on this is perfect; it is so well-balanced in comparison with the concentration and intensity on the palate. Without a doubt one of the greatest Champagnes of the last 30-40 years. I'd absolutely love to try this with a little more bottle age, but I've been lucky enough to have been able to try this twice already. The unanimous best wine of the lineup.
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2007 Jacques Selosse Millésimé 95 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
For me, it was always a flip-flop between whether I preferred this or the 2009. In contrast to the 2009, this has far more acid-driven tension, though at the expensive of the opulent fruit. It's a little more simplistic than the 2008 as well, though for the most part all the parts were there, even if it felt like this was driven more by the acid than having a balance across all the components of the wine (like the 2008). Again with air, this was a wine that tightened up significantly; there was more structure and minerality with air. Not quite as impressive as my prior experience with this wine, mostly because it was overshadowed by the absolutely brilliant 2008.
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1998 Château Haut-Brion 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
A very classic showing of a stellar bottle of left-bank Bordeaux. Classic Haut-Brion nose with its minerality shining through so prominently here. Some mature cedar notes, and the fruit shows more black than red; it's definitely on the riper side, and showing good secondary characteristics. In fact, this is sitting in a spot where I think Bordeaux drinks very nicely to me. A real treat to have this and a steak as a contrast with all the Selosse bottlings today.
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