Champagne Jacques Selosse

One of the true icons in Champagne, the Jacques Selosse House of Champagne has taken the region by storm, surpassing past traditions with the force of brilliant new ideas and efforts. Established in 1949 by Jacques Selosse, his son Anselme, however, is the man responsible for Champagne’s most recent renascence. By the late 1970s, Anselme took over the Avize estate, following in his father’s reputation, Anselme has become one of the most fascinating vintners in the appellation. He is a unique, magnetic individual that takes a Burgundian approach to his wines. That includes low yielding vineyards, and organic viticulture to provide the purest, most intense fruits possible. His radical vinification processes utilize new and old oak to barrel-ferment each base wine separately. Harvested from 35 different plots, his 7.5-hectares stretch across most of the appellation, there are Chardonnay parcels in the Côte des Blancs — Avize, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger — and a few Montagne de Reims plots, that are dedicated to growing Pinot Noir, as well as in Aÿ, Ambonnay and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. This rather small producer consistently crafts some of the most compelling and original Champagnes in France.