Sharon Bowman
Sharon Bowman
I went to Avize two days ago and tasted at Selosse's.
Here are a few notes. A more thorough thing, with some pictures, is on my blog.
First, interestingly, all the wines were showing their best, most balanced attributes (yes, as we have seen (most recently in New York with a lackluster Contraste), they can sometimes show less brightly or off).
We tasted V.O., 1999, Ros, Substance, Exquise and Il tait Une Fois. I also tasted the 2000, which will be released in a year.
The first, V.O., is Selosse's non dosaged extra-brut, and it was absolutely balanced, perfectly deep, the picture of "verticality," as he puts it. An expression of two plots in Avize that are both sharply sloped. He didn't realize this until much later; that it was the lesser amount of argile that made the taste of V.O.
The 1999 was a brawny thing, yet mastered. 14.2% alcohol, and no dosage, as he had disgorged it on the spot. It had great length and complexity, but was more a snapshot of a year, with that year's attributes (lots of light, if not heat), than the vertical, plunging and seemingly timeless V.O.
The Ros, here, came off as more Cistercian than usual: as it turns out, Selosse had changed the dosage, lowering it for the same bottling compared to the shipment that went out to America a few months ago, and which he now prefers. This has about 2.5g/l, whereas the American version has 3.5g/l. However, I found great beauty and minerality in this version of the Ros (though I would be curious to try it side by side with the American version). I love, too, that his ros is absolutely, just absolutely Selosse; its adjunction of red wine (from Egly-Ouriet) does nothing to obscure the particular character of his wines.
Substance was an opulent thing of beauty. Layers upon layers of heady pleasure, with dense bubbles and a full feel in the mouth. The solera dates back to 1986. This latest bottling (disgorged in October) was one of the best I've had. No excess, no flab, not as exotic as sometimes.
The others were tasting Exquise, but I begged for a taste of the 2000, which was open and half-hidden. The 2000 was unlike the previous vintage Selosses I've tried. Something more uncertain, for now. Anselme was very critical of it, but I think it's just struggling its way out of the starting blocks and needs some more time to find itself. It had a kind of flat thing on the mid-palate, that said.
Exquise was an interesting expression, but I cannot claim a preference for wines with sweetness. I does wear its 52g/l lightly, but I like the purity of the extra-bruts.
Then we got to taste the mistelle Il tait Une Fois - a "wine" made from excess grape juice that exceeded INAO regulations and couldn't be vinified. Selosse had been keeping this juice for 6 years. At the end, he added fine de Champagne to make the mistelle. It is 15% alcohol and about 168g/l of sugar! A sweet, sticky thing, I had tasted it in April and it had searingly pure Selosse character. Here, it had been marked by more aging and some oak and had taken on walnut notes and confited fruit. Curious; and a one-off experiment for him, whence its name, which means "Once Upon a Time."
Here are a few notes. A more thorough thing, with some pictures, is on my blog.
First, interestingly, all the wines were showing their best, most balanced attributes (yes, as we have seen (most recently in New York with a lackluster Contraste), they can sometimes show less brightly or off).
We tasted V.O., 1999, Ros, Substance, Exquise and Il tait Une Fois. I also tasted the 2000, which will be released in a year.
The first, V.O., is Selosse's non dosaged extra-brut, and it was absolutely balanced, perfectly deep, the picture of "verticality," as he puts it. An expression of two plots in Avize that are both sharply sloped. He didn't realize this until much later; that it was the lesser amount of argile that made the taste of V.O.
The 1999 was a brawny thing, yet mastered. 14.2% alcohol, and no dosage, as he had disgorged it on the spot. It had great length and complexity, but was more a snapshot of a year, with that year's attributes (lots of light, if not heat), than the vertical, plunging and seemingly timeless V.O.
The Ros, here, came off as more Cistercian than usual: as it turns out, Selosse had changed the dosage, lowering it for the same bottling compared to the shipment that went out to America a few months ago, and which he now prefers. This has about 2.5g/l, whereas the American version has 3.5g/l. However, I found great beauty and minerality in this version of the Ros (though I would be curious to try it side by side with the American version). I love, too, that his ros is absolutely, just absolutely Selosse; its adjunction of red wine (from Egly-Ouriet) does nothing to obscure the particular character of his wines.
Substance was an opulent thing of beauty. Layers upon layers of heady pleasure, with dense bubbles and a full feel in the mouth. The solera dates back to 1986. This latest bottling (disgorged in October) was one of the best I've had. No excess, no flab, not as exotic as sometimes.
The others were tasting Exquise, but I begged for a taste of the 2000, which was open and half-hidden. The 2000 was unlike the previous vintage Selosses I've tried. Something more uncertain, for now. Anselme was very critical of it, but I think it's just struggling its way out of the starting blocks and needs some more time to find itself. It had a kind of flat thing on the mid-palate, that said.
Exquise was an interesting expression, but I cannot claim a preference for wines with sweetness. I does wear its 52g/l lightly, but I like the purity of the extra-bruts.
Then we got to taste the mistelle Il tait Une Fois - a "wine" made from excess grape juice that exceeded INAO regulations and couldn't be vinified. Selosse had been keeping this juice for 6 years. At the end, he added fine de Champagne to make the mistelle. It is 15% alcohol and about 168g/l of sugar! A sweet, sticky thing, I had tasted it in April and it had searingly pure Selosse character. Here, it had been marked by more aging and some oak and had taken on walnut notes and confited fruit. Curious; and a one-off experiment for him, whence its name, which means "Once Upon a Time."