Jacques Selosse

Avize | Champagne - France

In 1980 Anselme Selosse took over the management of his father Jacques Selosse's company with the precious help of his wife Corinne. The company owns about 7 hectares, most of which are Chardonnay Grand Cru in the municipalities of Avize, Cramant and Oger, a Pinot Noir Grand Cru vineyard in Aÿ and one in Ambonnay. Annual global production is around 45,000 bottles. Every two years an organic compound is inserted deep into their soils to promote the enhancement of the terroir. Anselme Selosse, during each spring and autumn, works the soil in order to make it light and porous to allow a better passage of water. The plants are kept low with a yield of less than 2/3 of the average yield in Champagne. The immune defenses of the vineyard are naturally solicited, without any use of chemical treatments. After the traditional pressing, the must is placed in barrique for fermentation, which begins without the addition of selected yeasts and takes place with weekly batonnage during the winter and monthly during the summer. This process naturally continues without any intervention and sometimes lasts until July. The malolactic fermentation is contained, the natural acidity of the wine is not neutralized as the fertilizers do not contain mineral potassium and no type of filtration is ever carried out. Anselme Selosse states that his role is not to standardize the taste, but to tell the story of his vineyards respecting the vocation of the wine and the soil. For this reason it does not use selected yeasts during fermentation and prefers pure grape fructose for dosage at the time of dégorgement.These two peculiarities, typical of Champagne Jacques Selosse and of other few producers, ensure a taste that enhances the characteristics of the particle of land on which the grapes were picked.