"Made by Anselme, who has the second best hair in Champagne"

Chicago, IL
Tasted Thursday, August 8, 2024 by acyso with 297 views

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Brut Rosé 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    Of a relatively newer disgorgement, this was a splendid bottle and showed far more expressively than the bottle a month or so ago. This was generous in its stature with fruit, biscuity depth and complexity, and great mineral freshness. I love the acidity and cut here, and in my mind this has always been one of the best bottlings in the Selosse stable -- tonight's bottle was no exception to that -- it was one of the favourites among everyone.

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Flight 2 (3 Notes)

  • NV Jacques Selosse Initial 93 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    When you taste this wine in context with other wines in the stable, that it is relatively weak is quite apparent. Of course, in isolation, this bottle would typically wipe the floor with most other Champagnes. On the palate, this has a slight bit of angularity in comparison to the more well-rounded VO and Substance. Very easy going and enjoyable, with plenty of the typical Selosse richness. Of a younger disgorgement, as this had an RFID chip.

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  • NV Jacques Selosse V.O. Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 90 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    It's been quite a while since I've had this bottling, and alas it's closer to my previous experience with far more of an oxidative character on display here. It comes off a bit sherried, with some brown sugar, oxidative notes that prove a little too much for me. Impressive stature, of course, given that this is a Selosse, but for my tastes, the oxidation was pushed a little too far here. Unfortunately I didn't catch the disgorgement on this bottle.

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  • NV Jacques Selosse Substance 95 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    A relatively recent disgorgement given the RFID chip. This was one of my favourites this evening. It has the same weight as the relatively aged VO, but doesn't have any of the oxidative baggage. This is fresh, with hints of white fruit and youthful chardonnay electricity. One of the takeaways tonight, I think, is that for my palate these days, the younger the bottles, the better. The heavy oxidation can make the wines feel cloying.

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Flight 3 (3 Notes)

  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Les Carelles 90 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    2023 disgorgement. This was perhaps the middle of the three between the Chantereines and Chemin de Châlons. The oxidation was quite strong here, and felt a little heavy handed and with all the sotolon and brown sugar notes, this felt a bit over the top to me.

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  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Avize Les Chantereines 90 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    2023 disgorgement. This had a slight popcorn note on the nose, and while it's richer and more sappy than the other two chardonnay wines in the box set, the oxidation shows more intensely as well. You almost get a little bit of a cloying sensation due to the sheer amount of browning fruit here. My least favourite of the chardonnays from the set tonight.

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  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Cramant Chemins de Châlons 90 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    2023 disgorgement. This was my favourite of the chardonnays in the box set, in that it showed the most fresh chardonnay character. There's more white fruit, acidity, and lift here. But it also seems to come at the cost of a textural integration, where this feels less rounded than the other two wines and has a bit of a prickly texture. Will readily admit that the chardonnays from the box set were a bit of a let-down tonight; the pinot noirs did a lot better.

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Flight 4 (3 Notes)

  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Ambonnay Le Bout du Clos 93 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    2023 disgorgement. Of the pinots in the box set, I found this to be my least favourite -- it comes off a little angular and rough around the edges. The oxidative style of the wines of the box set are here prominently, but I think the style plays better with pinot than chardonnay -- these don't feel as sherried and over the top. A bit of funky earthiness here.

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  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Ay La Côte Faron 95 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    2023 disgorgement. My favourite of the box set tonight -- this had an aromatic intensity that was unmatched by any of the other wines. There was so much spice and fruit here, with a note that almost felt more like it belonged from gewürztraminer. The oxidation here is also dialled back, and there's a sweetness to the fruit, so despite the relatively darker profile the fruit still comes across as fairly fresh.

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  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Premier Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Mareuil-sur-Ay Sous le Mont 93 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    Disgorged 2023. Similar to the Bout des Clos, this has a bit of angularity to it. And similar to the rest of the wines in the box set, the oxidation shows quite prominently, but the richness of pinot carries it much better than the chardonnay. It's not as rounded and expressive as the Faron, which was my clear favourite of the box set this time around.

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Flight 5 (2 Notes)

  • 2002 Jacques Selosse Millésimé 90 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    I dunno man, this bottle was pretty oxidative and heavy-handed. Next to the 2003, this felt like the one that was over-the-top and weighty. Quite fat on the palate and missing any modicum of freshness, though the sheer amount of concentration and complexity here is monumental. But this is missing the cut and lift that I need in Champagne. Slightly oily and very heavily oxidative in texture. This is very much in line with the bottle of 2002 I had at the last Selosse dinner five years ago, though in the weeks right after that dinner, I did have an excellent experience with another bottle.

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  • 2003 Jacques Selosse Millésimé 93 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    How strange that the 2003 actually bested the 2002 in the side-by-side tonight. This was in a similarly opulent state, with heavy oxidation and plenty of sotolonic (that is definitely not a word) notes on the nose. But the heat of the vintage seemed to amp the fruit up a notch, and with the sweetness of the fruit providing some contrast to the otherwise extremely umami and rich profile.

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Flight 6 (2 Notes)

  • 2005 Jacques Selosse Millésimé 93 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    Compared to the bottle I had five years ago at a similarly comprehensive dinner, where I complained that this was too young to understand, I felt that this bottle showed more advancement than I would have expected or wanted. Really strange the vast contrast over the short time span. There's more of a sweet fruit profile (showing some maturation) than the 2007 alongside, which is leaner and really exemplifies chardonnay. Very typical Selosse weight here.

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  • 2007 Jacques Selosse Millésimé 95 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    This gets towards the more modern era of Selosse, which I now find much more appealing to my aesthetic, with its sinewy, mineral chew and freshness (but without really losing the weight of the older generation's wines). Bright, brilliant, and sharp, with just a modest hint of oxidation where it serves as an accent rather than as the main attraction. Impressive stuff, very much in line with my bottle last year.

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Flight 7 (3 Notes)

  • 2008 Jacques Selosse Millésimé 98 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    This is, consistently, one of the greatest bottles of Champagne made in my lifetime so far, and one of the greatest wines I've ever had. Meyer lemon acidity and creaminess, where either note comes into focus depending on what you want. Intense mineral cut, freshness, and elegance, this really is the package deal. Different from most of the other Selosse wines tonight, there were no oxidative notes here whatsoever. Very bright and lifted, with a cheerful sunny disposition. Brings the joy.

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  • 2009 Jacques Selosse Millésimé 95 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    I far preferred this to the 2010. This strikes me as a variation of the 2003 -- more freshness and white fruit, with dialled down oxidation, but that ripe character is very much present and similar. The largest-scaled on the palate of the 2008-10 trio, with a distinct sweetness from that ripe fruit. Never cloying with plenty of acidity, and of course the typical Selosse extract, to keep this in balance. A fantastic wine by any stretch of the imagination, but clearly outclassed by the 2008.

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  • 2010 Jacques Selosse Millésimé 93 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    Consistent with my previous bottle last year, this is surprisingly mature and oxidative relative to the 2007-9. Shows a modest sotolon note, which is odd for a wine of such youth, some yellow and browning fruit, but also a slight hollowness in the palate that most other wines didn't have. That said, I think all of these faults are more in relation to the very strong wines directly preceding it.

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Flight 8 (3 Notes)

  • 2020 Egly-Ouriet Coteaux Champenois Cuvée des Grands Côtés Vieilles Vignes Rouge Ambonnay 93 Points

    France, Champagne, Coteaux Champenois

    The red wine that Anselme uses to colour the house rosé, so a real treat to try. The nose has a very bright, perfumed spice quality, the sort typical for very cold climate pinot that is made in the post-modern style. But unlike most red Coteaux Champenois (which always feels like emaciated red Burgundy), there's a generosity to the fruit here that actually makes this feel like a properly full wine. And at the end of an evening of heavy set Champagnes, this bright pinot provides a brilliant contrast.

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  • NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Exquise Sec 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    A recent disgorgement, with an incredible lemon curd/sherbet/marmalade/meringue dessert that made one of the greatest pairings I've ever had -- "The Whole Lemon". This has that rich density of Selosse, but instead of using intense acidity to cut it, you get just the right amount of sweetness. Clearly sweet in the context of Champagne, but this doesn't feel like a distinguishing characteristic; just another accent in a very complete package. The reduction in oxidation (I crack myself up sometimes) here contrasts (pun also intended) very favourably with many other bottles tonight.

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  • NV Jacques Selosse Ratafia de Champagne il était une fois 93 Points

    France, Champagne, Ratafia de Champagne

    A fascinating wine, and a real privilege to try something that has the rarity of spotting a rufous-vented ground cuckoo. I think the best description of this is a Madeira-like wine, but missing the kick of acidity. As well, the alcohol is probably 4-5 degrees less than a typical Madeira, so despite the dried raisins and rancio qualities, this is much more approachable and accessible to drink.

    From xtraWine:
    Il s'agit d'un "ratafià" spécial élaboré par Anselme Selosse.
    Le moût de raisin des récoltes 1997, 1998 et 1999 a été additionné d'alcool et conservé dans des fûts en bois jusqu'à la mise en bouteille en 2008.
    Au total, 3000 bouteilles ont été produites, dont 1500 destinées à l'Italie. Le prochain sera élaboré à partir des millésimes 2008 - 2009 - 2010 et sera mis en bouteille en 2022.

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