AN AFTERNOON SPENT WITH THE MASTER: ANSELME SELOSSE - Avize (1/14/2010)
Thursday January 14th. 2.30 PM. After a snowy day in Champagne, the sun is shinning again. Shops are closed, no traffic, this is a quiet day in Avize…so quiet that I can hear my heart pounding: I’m finally going to meet Anselme Selosse. I read a lot about him, heard a lot and enjoyed his wines a lot as well…Am I going to be disappointed after such anticipation? Well….all I can say is WOW! The first thing you notice when you enter in the small office of the house is a bunch of books: “La philosophie du jardinier”, books on the Tao, on geology… Calling Anselme a winemaker would be wrong: he’s much more than that. Call him an artist, a philosopher, a poet…and oh yeah he also makes wine.
Spending 3 hours with him is hard to transcript. There is too much information and the exchange is constant. Anselme believes in letting the terroir speaks and intervene as little as possible in the vineyard. Each crus (Avize, Le Mesnil, Cramant, Oger, Ay, Ambonnay, Mareuil) , each parcelles (47), are unique and express themselves in a different way.
Least you can say he is not a big fan of biodynamic movement. He simply wants to let the soil do the work and want us to be able to taste the uniqueness of each sites in the bottle.
For Anselme, a wine is influenced by “l’inné et l’acquis” or if you want "nature versus nurture" or “skills versus knowledge”. L’inné for the wine is the soil, this is what he gets from the terroir. L’acquis is the vintage.
His wines are raised in barrels (like it was common to do before 1959 in Champagne) which are changing every year. Indeed the size and type of oak will depend on the millesime, on the peeps of the grapes etc... Then the juice goes into the cellar for up to 7.5 years.
After the tour of his new installations, the new press, and his cellar, Anselme looks at us and with a malicious tone asks us: “So, what are we trying today?” Oh oh…can I tell him let’s try all your wines! He loves to have you try some wines which are not released or experiments he made because this is Anselme: believe, respect and try. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t (like the noir de blanc (!) he tried to make).
We finally decide to try the 1999, 2002, Le Mesnil 2003, the rose and “il etait une fois”.
At the end of the tasting, I tell Anselme that I came to see him hoping to understand a little better his wines but really, I think I’m even more puzzled now than before. He smiles and says: “that was exactly what I’m trying to achieve”. Well said Mr Selosse and thank you for 3 hours that I will never forget.
2003 Jacques Selosse Champagne Blanc de Blancs Les Carelles
100% Chardonnay from the site called Les Carelles in Le Mesnil.
I'm not sure how this will be released.
Fantastic wine with some apricot, quince, cooked orchard fruits. A lot of acidity and a champagne with a huge density. Some nice honey notes on the palate completes a very complex and balanced wine.
1999 Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut
100% chardonnay from Avize.
Disgorged early feb 2009.
Boy oh boy ! Biggest champagne I have ever tasted but still balanced and fresh thanks to a strong minerality.
This wine already starts to show truffles and mushroom notes along with persimmon and grapefruit notes.
As Anselme was noting, un "vin sudiste" and ripe even though it was hard to tell this was 14.2%.
He tried to have a derogation form the INAO to not add any sugar after the 1st fermentation in the liqueur de tirage but this was rejected...
I would wait a few years to open this and this is a champagne which absolutely needs food !
2002 Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut
100% chardonnay from Avize.
Disgorged in front of us and will be released in 2012.
Hard to taste as this was just disgorged and no dosage yet. Anselme will decide in 2 years how to dose the wine.
As always not much bubbles but a gorgeous nose with a lot citrus fruits, orange notes. A refreshing light bitterness on the finish (think roots) and like many Selosse wine, a strong mineral backbone.
To my taste, this wine does not need any dosage at all but who knows in 2 years?
Anyway, a terrific champagne in the making and already very complex.
N.V. Jacques Selosse Champagne Rosé
For this rose, Anselme uses pinot from Egly-Ouriet.
This bottle was mainly using 2002 grapes.
I loved the nose with a nice minerality and small red fruits. Upon opening a touch of iodine, sea water. Somehow a delicate wine compared to the other Selosse.
The palate is a little less complex but this needs time in the glass.
N.V. Jacques Selosse Ratafia de Champagne il etait une fois
Ratafia de Champagne, 100% chardonnay.
For this sweet wine, Anselme uses 4 small barrels of chardonnay that he leaves outside for 6 years and then adds fine de champagne. 15% alcohol and close to 168g/l of sugar.
I just loved this juice. Orange, spices, raisins with a crazy long finish on walnuts.
Not heavy, not too sweet, nice balance.
A perfect example of how Selosse have fun and always tries to do different things.
It is really hard to understand Selosse champagne. Very vinous, not very bubbly. Rather big, oxidative style, you need to spend some time with it in the glass to appreciate.
It's always difficult to put words on the aromatics and flavors. You have to take those wines as a whole and go for it.
But you always have this freshness thanks to the strong minerality and whether you like Selosse or not, it never leaves you indifferent.
Thank you mr Selosse.
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