During our visit at the Mosel river in Trier when we were conducting our 2006 Sangiovese Tasting, we also had the chance to taste a whole series of “rare birds” in Grower Champagnes and a few other fascinating wines, that are worth being written up. For the post on Tuscany 2006, refer to this link.
We started the evening with a selection of Grower Champagnes, that would have been worthy of an event on their own. All these bottles are rare, difficult to find, pricy and for me belong to the best epressions of Champagnes I could think of. Also fascinating to see such high quality in this Champagne category that is sometimes a little more exposed to differences in vintages. While the big houses try to produce a very consistent quality and house style for each wine by blending the wines from a wide array of different vineyards, different grape varieties and vintages (reserve wines), the growers usually take a very opposite approach. Most of these wines are made from single grape varieties, single or mostly single vintages and single Crus and therefore much more representative of terroir than of house style. With Pierre Péters, Cédric Bouchard’s Roses de Jeanne and Jacques Selosse, we tasted three of the highest regarded producers and with Selosse also a producer, that probably has influenced Grower Champagne like nobody else has.
Tasting Notes:
Pierre Péters
Pierre Péters is a domaine that has been farming Champagne vineyards for six generations and producing Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne since 1919. The domaine consists of approximately 19 hectares of Chardonnay vineyards in the Côte des Blancs, in prestigious locations like Oger, Avize, Cramant and Le Mesnil sur Oger, where the winery is also located. Les Chétillons is a beautiful “lieu-dit” in the Grand Cru village of le Mesnil sur Oger. Three plots of old vines (aged over 45 years) were acquired in 1930. They are each vinified separately and blended to produce a single vineyard Champagne. Today, Les Chétillons is considered one of the very best lieu-dits of the Côtes de Blancs with a superb expression of minerality and elegance.
2002 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons, 96 points
Not an easy position next to a horizontal of the Selosse lieux-dits and the Roses de Jeanne wines… but it totally delivered. Beautifully pure, elegant and a „ballerina“, with notes of chalk/minerality, candied lemon zest, mint, white blossoms and citrus. It‘s medium bodied with medium-high acidity and slightly creamy mousse. Excellent length and mid-palate persistence. A grand Champagne that is always built on superb elegance and a deep chalky minerality.
Cédric Bouchard
The visionary Cédric Bouchard took over a part of his father’s vineyards in the late nineties and started his own domaine Roses de Jeanne in 2000. From the beginning, he had a clear vision. He only wanted to produce single vineyard, single grape variety and single vintage Champagnes of the highest level. To reach a maximum expression of the specific vineyard, he also refrained from any dosage (“zero dosage”) and reduced the yields substantially. Today, Cédric Bouchard’s wines are among the most sought after Champagnes, being heavily allocated due to their very small production (they farm approximately 3 hectares) and prices have exploded. A rare treat to taste these wines.
2016 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine, 92+ points
100% Pinot Noir from the lieu-dit “Val Vilaine” (1.5 hectares), there is usually a small production of 300 – 500 cases. Beautifully perfumed, with notes of chalk, ripe small red berries, some spices, also flowery notes. It‘s medium-full bodied, with beautiful mousse, some medium-high acidity that is cutting through the richness and ripeness and a long finish. An excellent BdN for a decent price. A hedonistic pleasure and totally open for business.
2014 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Les Ursules, 96 points
From 100% Pinot Noir from the lieu-dit “Les Ursules” (0.9 hectares), there is usually a small production of 250 – 300 cases. Tasted next to the 2016 Val Vilaine, this is a clear step up in tension and complexity. Very pretty, mineral-driven notes of chalk, smoke, some red berries but also citrus, plenty of minerality as well a some herbal qualities (like stems). Medium-full bodied, with excellent purity, tension and cut, it has high acidity and a very long finish. The mousse is excellent quality with a certain creaminess. A great BdN from this top-notch producer and absolutely fascinating.
Jacques Selosse
After this great opening, we then moved on to another highlight… a horizontal tasting of Selosse. Domaine Jacques Selosse is located in Avize in the Côte des Blancs. The domaine was founded by Anselme Selosse’s parents who produced their first wines in 1964. 10 years later, Anselme Selosse took over the winery with approximately 8.3 hectares of prime holdings in Avize, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil sur Oger, Ay, Mareuil-sur-Ay and Ambonnay. After a long journey of conventional, organic and biodynamic viticulture, Selosse has found his own way of farming that is extremely “non-interventional” and close to nature. Anselme and his son have deleopped their own practices and rules for farming and have distanced themselves from biodynamic over the last 20 years, as they consider biodynamic “too much intervention” in the vineyards. The 54 plots consist of mostly Grand Cru Chardonnay (7.3 hectares) and Pinot Noir (1 hectare) and are farmed with meticulous attention to detail and produce very low yields.
Today, Selosse is the most influential Grower and their artisanal, natural and distinctive style of Champagne has had a deep impact on the whole Grower Champagne landscape. Needless to say, that these wines are now extremely allocated and painfully expensive. It was the first time tasting these wines really young and in a full horizontal of the 6 lieux-dits, it was also very interesting to see the development over the 2 days. There was a theme going through most of these wines, and it was a flirt with oxidation and certain nutty/honeyed notes of the Solera/aging, but their differences still came out nicely. Also worth being mentioned is the richness, complexity and depth all these Champagnes are showing. Selosse is a mouthful of Champagne, but still reaches incredible freshness and balance, one of the mysteries that make these wines so magical.
NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra-Brut Les Carelles, 97+ points
From the lieu-dit “Les Carelles” in Le Mesnil sur Oger from 100% Chardonnay. Deg. March 2017.
Super chalky notes, citrus, pear, some herbal notes too, white blossoms, some brioche, crayon, spices… It‘s medium-full bodied, pretty dense and with excellent mid-palate depth, with pretty high acidity, creamy mousse and excellent length. Still super young, but full of potential. Ends on some slightly bitter notes. Opens up and calms down substantially on day 2, even more complexity and excellent tension. The longer this is open the more the signature elegance/finesse of this wine is coming through. This turned out to be the most elegant, complex and most subtle of the wines. One of the WOTNs for me. In the past I often found Les Carelles the most complete and complex of the six lieux-dits.
NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra-Brut Les Chanteraines, 94 – 95 points
From the lieu-dit Les Chanteraines in Avize, 100% Chardonnay. Deg. March 2017.
Very different from the Les Carelles next to it. With notes of citrus, candied lemon zest, minerality, honey, nuts, also some brioche. It‘s medium-full bodied, dense, powerful, has medium-high acidity but feels more ready to drink on day 1 than the Les Carelles. Excellent length, too.
NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra-Brut Chemin de Châlons, 95 – 96 points
From the lieu-dit “Chemin de Châlons, 100% Chardonnay, Deg. March 2017.
Notes of citrus, lemon, some minerality, some candied fruit, also some wet stone, a touch of honey too, as well as some herbal notes. It‘s medium-full bodied, with pretty high acidity. A lot of tension, but not as dense as Les Carelles tasted next to it. Excellent.
NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Ay la Côte Faron, 94 – 95 points
From the lieu-dit “La Côte Faron” in Ay, 100% Pinot Noir, Deg. March 2017.
Notes of small red berries, some oaky notes too (vanilla, spices), flowery notes, orange zest. It‘s full bodied, with lower perlage, has high acidity, full-bodied and very good mid-palate density, slightly clipping on the finish though. Still a very very good BdN from this great producer. Showing significantly better on day 2.
NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut Le Bout du Clos, 96+ points
From the lieu-dit “Le Bout du Clos” in Ambonnay, 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay, Deg. March 2017.
Notes of tonic, red berries, also some ripe/browned apple, chalk, minerality, citrus too. Full-bodied, dense and powerful, with pretty high acidity, nice mousse. High acidity, lots of tension but also really complex for such a young wine. Excellent length.
NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut Sous le Mont, 96 points
From the lieu-dit “Sous le Mont” in Mareuil-sur-Ay, 100% Pinot Noir, Deg. March 2017.
Beautifully perfumed, notes of tonic, small red berries, some baking spices, also some honey, chalky notes too, touch oxidative too, some tobacco. Full-bodied and dense, with high acidity adding tension and cutting through the richness, medium creamy mousse. Excellent length with a lot of tension. Fantastic.
Concluding Remarks
Overall, a probably once-in-a-lifetime tasting of all the lieux-dits and it was breathtaking. Unfortunately, it also set the bar very high for all the wines to follow… Not an easy task for the other wines to be tasted after this incredible line-up of world-class, big and dense Champagnes.
Author: Markus Kumschick, WSET III
February 2019