Champagne.Jacques Sellose
“Come quickly, I am drinking the stars” is a famous quotation attributed to Pierre Pérignon better known as Dom Pérignon. Today we can almost certainly say that Dom Pérignon never uttered these words, however no one can argue there is something enchanting about them. If somebody asked me to describe my experience while tasting the wines with Anselme and Guillaume Selosse I would rephrase the famous monk and say “Come quickly, I am drinking the star”. But this star is just an end product of a meticulous work and set of principles which guide everything Domaine Jacquess Selosse does.
It begins with an idea. The idea to do things differently, “L’autre même” is the motto written with a chalk on the left hand side before you enter the cave. It means the other same and this play on words says more than a dozen of sentences about how the Selosse family approaches wine making and matters beyond. Anselme Selosse, son of Jacques, is a legend of the region. What is even more impressive is the ascendancy to the legendary status happened while he is still alive and still very much engaged with the daily work at the vineyard. I do not claim to know him well, after all we spent one afternoon with him and I was able to exchange a few words, but there is a certain aura and charisma to the man - when he speaks others listen. The knowledge Anselm shared with us during the cellar tour and tasting was not strictly about wine, my feeling was it is the way he looks at life that is conveyed to his work in the vineyards.
I found it fascinating how much Anselme underlines his role as a mere obstetrician. He is not responsible for the creation of the wine, instead mother nature is. He is looking after the vineyards (he would rather say that the family is looking after the parcels rather than owning them) and the hardest part of the work is to listen to nature, nurture it but never interrupt. His work is simply to allow the beauty to be born. One can easily draw a comparison with the words of Marco Pierre White, another living legend dedicated to cooking rather than winemaking, who always claimed that the real artist is mother nature and you are just a cook preparing what you’ve been given. Another question they both always keep asking themselves: “Why are we doing what we are doing?”. The attitude of always questioning every action to refine the outcome is something that stays with you even long after the tasting is over.
Let’s focus for a moment on the history and why this particular Domain is so coveted, the labels sought after and its overall cult status. Anselme is one of the most important (if not the most) figures in modern history of Champagne as a region. Together with his father they started to bottle and sell their own grapes instead of selling everything en masse to big champagne houses. Today it seems obvious but a few decades back when the big houses used to pay per kilo of grapes regardless of their quality small growers were content with the possibility to sell their product constantly.
The history of the Domain begins in 1947 when Jacques Selosse purchased vines in Avize. 1964 was a big milestone when he began bottling champagne. At the beginning of 70. Anselme studied in Burgundy and in 1974 came back with the knowledge and beaming passion he took over the estate from his father. During this time the Domaine used to make around 7000 bottles under their own label and the remaining fruit was still being sold to big houses like Lanson and Roederer. It didn’t take long for Anselme to set his footprint on everything happening at the Domaine during this time. The yields were lowered and non-interventionist manner of working the vineyard was introduced during the times when others tried to maximize the production for profit.
Nowadays the slogan of biodynamic or organic wines is becoming a popular tenet for many winemakers however chasing this green sticker is not a priority for Domaine Jacques Selosse. Not because they aren’t working in biodynamic and organic fashion, on the contrary. Anseleme believes they are even above both movements, indeed they are as close to nature as it gets. He rejects both systems as too dogmatic, even though his viticultural philosophy is deeply embedded with the respect for nature and maintaining harmonious balance in the ecosphere which is much more than just following the checks of becoming biodynamic and organic.
While these principles are at the very core of every action taken in the Domaine the puzzle is not yet complete. For Anselme it was not enough to do the same things better, he wanted something entirely new. As someone educated in Burgundy he began to draw conclusions about what differentiates Champagne from Burgundy. In Champagne it was all about a vintage, whereas Burgundy valued first and foremost the site wine came from. The focus on the site can be applied the same as in Burgundy but how to reverse a trend of vintage wines? Well let’s just… erase it.
The package was now complete. There was a meticulous approach to the specific site, understanding that the wine is first and foremost made in the vineyard and a bold idea to erase the vintage effect. It is a truism to say that travelling broadens the mind. While visiting Spain in the 70s Anselme went to Jerez where he visited a number of producers of Sherry using the solera method. And that was it, this was the answer to the riddle of erasing vintage factor. In the middle of 80s he started to blend his champagne with the true solera method and remains the only winemaker in Champagne to do so as of today. And it all makes perfect sense because this method allows for the wines to always maintain the balance as you can blend worse vintage with a better one. It also reflects in Anselme point of view on the ever so present discussions about vintages. He believes that in the end it will all balance out, if this vintage is bad the next one will most likely be better, then when you sum it all up together it will always end up in the middle. The wine was initially called Origine however the name was not copyrighted and thus at the end of XX century the name had to be changed to Substance which over the course of years became the most popular label of Domaine Jacques Selosse.
Lest we forget history is a constant process. It definitely shaped the Domaine and wines to what they are today, but it is an ongoing process and there is already another generation at the steering wheel. Anselme's son Guillaume is currently, quoting Anselme, the boss for a year and a half. Not to say Anselme has retired, my guess is that with his driving passion he is nowhere near the decision. Guillaume is a beacon of positivity but with everything he says you know he is as dead serious about his work as his father. Anselme told us that he was preparing Guillaume to take over his role for many years and to convey the knowledge the best he could he would always try to teach Guillaume how to first and foremost listen to nature. It is difficult to describe what a dynamic duo they both are but we can rest assured that the Domaine is in the best hands possible and the future is bright. Guillaume also has another label of champagne he produces from the parcels he received from his grandparents. Those are labelled under Domaine Guillaume Selosse and you can blindly take it as a stamp of quality.
During our tasting the question was raised about Anselme throwing the gauntlet to the big champagne houses and being a whistleblower for a revolution that spawned dozens of small producers who began working on their own bottling rather than selling their grapes. But Anselme was very clear – his actions were never aimed against anybody. He set out on this journey to realize his own aspirations and not to usurp the big houses. In fact he is not critical of what they do, they are just different expressions of the region. That is also the reason why he never criticizes other producers – everybody has a right to express themselves and in the end it is up to the consumers what they are looking for. I personally know which camp I belong…
We had a great pleasure to taste four Vin clair which were all so very enchanting. It is so difficult to describe them but the closest I got was the minerality and precision of Chablis with the richness and body of Puligny. All of that with the sensation of spices and honey straight from the apiary. Except there were no bees disturbed by my sensations. We then moved on to the sparkling tasting with 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005 and 2002 being served. Guillaume was generously pouring the champagne and I had a distinct feeling that I was always behind just because I didn’t want to part with the scent generated by those wines. The twist on 2005 was the single fermentation so technically it was a pet-nat wine, but the freshness of it stayed with you forever. While all the wines were brilliant 2002 just gave me spine shivers. From the get go the depth of colour you never expect in the champagne. Almonds, slightly flower note – something like lilac perhaps? To supplement there was a slightly exotic touch of apricot. I asked Anselme about his favourite vintage but he wasn’t able to choose just one, however if he had to pick only one, entering his cellar as a child with no expectations he would go for 2002 because it keeps on surprising him with the beauty of its evolution. I couldn’t agree more, chapeau bas.
Domaine Jacques Selosse produces eleven labels in total:
Intial and V.O. are the entry level wines. Both naturally blanc de blancs (we are in Avize after all which is located within Côte des Blancs) blended from sites in Avize, Cramant and Oger. Intial comes from lower parts of the slope whereas V.O. is from higher spots.
Rosé is made from Chardonnay of V.O. with the small addition of red wine from Egly-Ouriet in Ambonnay.
Substance – made in a true solera method. The grapes are sourced from Avize vineyards (Les Marvillannes, Les Chantereines). Thanks to solera the wine contains every vintage from 1986.
Vintage – this is vintage Champagne which intends to showcase Avize uniqueness. The grapes are sourced from Les Chantereines (Anselme explained that these soils are particularly chalky) and Les Maladries du Midi (which in contrast are mostly clay soils).
Afterwards we have a collection of six lieux-dits. They are also made using the solera method.
Aÿ La Côte Faron – single plot source from the vineyard of the same name. It is blanc de noirs with 100% pinot noir.
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger les Carelles – blanc de blancs from the village of Mesnil-sur-Oger
Ambonnay Le Bout du Clos – blend of 80% of pinot noir and 20% chardonnay
Cramant Chemin de Chalons – blanc de blancs from the village of Cramant
Avize Les Chantereines – blanc de blancs from the outskirts of Avize
Mareuil-sur-Aÿ Sous le Mont – blanc de noir from the village Mareuil-sur-Aÿ
Alas all good things come to an end and so did our tasting, lasting almost 3 hours. We all know this feeling of having places you would love to visit and meeting people you would love to meet. This special visit was most certainly one of those moments. It is unfair to label it as a degustation, to me it was an experience, it intertwined life balance, philosophy, outstanding wines and exceptional people.