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: Jacques Selosse "Initial" Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne

Jacques Selosse "Initial" Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne

SKU #1058702 96 points Wine Spectator

Outer quote mark Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Initial NV (2023) Reminiscent of aged white Burgundy, this shows a rich panoply of quince paste, shortbread and honeycomb accented by white truffle, licorice root and chamomile tea. The fine bead melts like flakes of fleur de sel on the palate, working with the mandarin orange peel acidity to sculpt this rich, focused Champagne. Fascinating. *Highly Recommended* (AN) Inner quote mark (3/2023)

95 points Decanter

Outer quote mark Lovely intense and invitingly rich baked bread aromas lead to a very dry, ripe, rich and powerful palate. Oxidative, fat and autolytic, it has a savoury and honeyed character that's both exotic and hedonistic. There's good mineral acidity to keep the show firmly on the road, but it's not the main component here, and it shows fabulous length on the finish. Definitely a fizz for food. (JS) Inner quote mark (11/2018)

94 points John Gilman

Outer quote mark The October 2014 disgorgement of Brut Initial is from the base year of 2008, with 2007 and 2006 juice comprising the remainder of the blend. This is a beautifully classic and refined example, soaring from the glass in a pure and youthful aromatic blend of pear, white peach, chalky soil tones, a touch of tangerine, spring flowers and vanillin oak. This is very floral in personality, but not as exotically musky as the 2009 version. On the palate the wine is pure class, with its full-bodied and seamless format presenting excellent depth at the core, refined, pinpoint bubbles, lovely focus and nascent complexity and a very long, minerally and elegant finish. This is very, very easy to drink today, but again, patience will be rewarded with an even more beautiful bottle! Inner quote mark (7/2019)

94 points Wine Advocate

Outer quote mark Disgorged in May 2021, the latest rendition of Selosse's NV Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Initial is showing beautifully, unwinding in the glass with aromas of pear, dried fruits, confit lemon, fenugreek, fresh bread and toasted almonds. Full-bodied, vinous and complex, it's a rich, fleshy Champagne that's underpinned by bright acids and complemented by a pinpoint mousse, concluding with a long, sapid finish. As usual, this bottling derives from the lower-altitude slopes of Avize, Cramant and Oger, where the soils are richer in clay and yields are higher when compared with the vineyards that inform V. O. (WK) Inner quote mark (1/2022)

94 points Vinous

Outer quote mark Extra-Brut Initial is especially airy and perfumed in this release. Hints of dried flowers, hazelnut, spice, orange peel and incense all grace a mid-weight, understated Initial that is all charm. This release is beautifully done, but also quite understated in feel. Pretty floral accents lift the finish. Initial is composed of a base vintage that typically accounts for at least 65% of the blend and then reserve wines from the prior two vintages that are aged in cask and then blended just prior to bottling, all from vineyards in Avize, Cramant and Oger. Disgorged: October 16, 2022. Dosage is 1.5 grams per liter. (AG) Inner quote mark (5/2023)

Jancis Robinson

Outer quote mark Blend of Avize, Cramant and Oger. 100% Chardonnay. Three consecutive years 2011–2013. 5 years on lees approximately. Wild yeasts. Dosage 5g/l. Deep golden straw. Very distinctively savoury on the nose – broad like a bold (not modern and austere) white burgundy. Hits the very back of the palate with umami and Marmite. Real weight and real length to this. Tastes bone dry but not painful. (JR) Inner quote mark (6/2019)

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Jacques Selosse "Initial" Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne

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Varietal:

Chardonnay

- It's hard to believe that up until about 30 years ago, this extremely popular varietal hid behind the veil of geographical names like Chablis and Puligny-Montrachet. Now grown all over the world and bottled by its varietal name, Chardonnay has achieved a level of branding unlike any other wine. Surprisingly, though, what you get when you buy Chardonnay can differ greatly from country to country and even within one country, depending on the climate where it's grown and how it is vinified and aged. From fresh, crisp and minerally with apple and lemon notes to rich and buttery with tropical fruit overtones, Chardonnay runs the gamut. In France's Burgundy, Chardonnay is the source of the prized wines of Chablis, Corton-Charlemagne, Mâcon, Meursault and Montrachet. It also the foundation of exceptional Champagne, where it is blended with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier or vinified on its own into Blanc de Blancs. It is also extremely popular in California, and is gaining popularity in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Spain and South Africa.

Country:

France

- When it comes to wine, France stands alone. No other country can beat it in terms of quality and diversity. And while many of its Region, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne most obviously, produce wine as rare, as sought-after and nearly as expensive as gold, there are just as many obscurities and values to be had from little known appellations throughout the country. To learn everything there is to know about French wine would take a lifetime. To understand and appreciate French wine, one only has to begin tasting them.

Sub-Region:

Champagne

- The French region of Champagne (comprised of the towns of Rheims, Epernay, and Ay) was the first region in the world to make sparkling wine in any quantity. Today, the name of the region is synonymous with the finest of all sparkling wines, and winemaking traditions of Champagne have become role models for sparkling wine producers, worldwide. Surprisingly, the region of Champagne is now responsible for only one bottle in 12 of all sparkling wine produced. Styles of champagne range from the basic brut (often blends of several vintages), single vintage champagnes, and rose.