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Champagne Extra Brut Millésime 2003 75cl

AOC | Côte des Blancs | Champagne | France
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Critics scores
97 James Suckling
A wine that has an absolutely unique character, Selosse has interpreted a truly extraordinary vintage with poetic insight. He describes the double stresses of an April frost that claimed 75% of the yield in Avize, coupled with a very hot and dry June and August. He speaks of the evapotranspiration and the effect of depositing an immense amount of mineral residue into the plant, which has manifested in this striking wine, and compares it to a chef reducing and concentrating a sauce. The smoky, toasty notes are more than autolysis; you can smell the heat of the vintage here. It has profound stony and chalky aromas, gentle spices, grilled hazelnuts and dehydrated stone fruits. The minerals explode onto the palate. It's electric, hitting like an ionic blast before rolling out dark nutty flavors ahead of plush orange and ripe nectarine, peach and big, rich phenolics. It has many layers through the finish. Extremely long, balanced and resolved. Drink now or age confidently for a fascinating savory journey - this has a sturdy nature.
Producer
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.