The Terroiriste from Avize: Visit with Anselme Selosse

On November 9 we made a pilgrimage to the cellars of Champagne grower Anselme Selosse at the Maison Jacques Selosse in Avize. With the recent discussions in the New York Times and elsewhere, I had almost the sense of being part of a quest for secret knowledge and enlightment that could only be imparted by this singular guru/wizard sequestered in the back streets of Avize. In fact, this is exactly what happened. I came away with a very different concept of what Champagne could and should be, but also a much keener appreciation of what terroir really is once you get beyond the platitudes.

We were two geochemists/soil chemists that were part of a tour that lasted three hours and included three Italian consommateurs, two younger French guys working in Burgundy, and a sommelier from an unknown restaurant somewhere in France. In fact, Selosse made some effort to draw the two “geologists” out, but neither of us had the perfect command of French to do proper justice to the subtleties of terroir and how it relates to soil, and in any case, we wanted to leave the stage to Selosse. He wasted no time in launching into a bravura performance, giving the most lucid explanation of terroir that I have ever heard, particularly as it involves the interactions between soils and microclimate. While he stressed the winemaker’s role as guardian and even artisan, I came away with a strong feeling that he saw the winemaker’s role as in part that of an observer, or as we say in the sciences, as an observationalist. In this respect, Selosse evinced a keen curiosity as to how the ever changing climatic conditions (sun, precipitation, temperature) interacted with the all-important soil, a medium which is carefully distinguished from “earth” or “terre” because of the living, symbiotic community of minerals, microbes, and plant life found there. One had the distinct feeling that Selosse, given the choice between seeing how this or that seasonal variation would play out at one of his vineyards and intervening to ensure some uniform minimum quality, would choose the former. While this sounds like a recipe perhaps for producing an uneven set of wines, one has to say that we tasted nothing later that was anything less than outstanding.

One could tell that Selosse was very much interested in the question of soil chemistry and microbiology and how these interacted with differences in growing conditions from year to year. I never asked him, but he seemed to have a good grasp of soil chemistry, suggesting some considerable studies in this field. Much of his interest had to do with how to maximize the minerality in the wines—how the roots selectively took up nutrients, how minor differences in temperature (as small as 1 degree) could made a big difference in the sèvre (sap) that the grapes took up. He even made the argument that oxidation could bring out the minerality in a wine, and demonstrated this by taking a piece of paper and lighting it on fire, showing how the residual minerals would be enhanced by removing (oxidizing) some of the carbon.

Well, as for the wines, I can’t say I have ever tasted a set of Champagnes with greater length and vinosity, but also a set of Champagnes with such clearly distinct personalities, each impressive in its own way. The tasting certainly laid to rest any notion that terroir might just be an abstract concept. Of all the wines tasted, only the Contraste and the 1990 Avize had had any dosage, and these seemed to be at fairly low levels. In fact, I thought of a Burgundy lover I know who does not like Champagne, in part because of the distracting aspect of the bubbles and CO2—this could be Champagnes that he would love.

2003 Jacques Selosse le Mesnil
This Blanc de Blancs was golden yellow in color, with a rich leesy nose that showed hints of pear and white flowers. Almost sappy on the rich mid-palate, this wine showed an intense, rolling finish dominated by sweet fruit notes. Perhaps the least minerally of the wines we tasted, this was nonetheless impressive for making the most of the vintage, playing on the strengths that such growing conditions can bring to a wine.

2004 Jacques Selosse Aÿ
This Blanc de Noirs was much paler in color and cloudy in appearance, due to the low clay content of the soils at Aÿ that result in less fixation of iron according to Selosse. The nose was more subtle and reserved than the Mesnil and perhaps any of the other wines, and yet still showed distinct notes of yeast and green apple. In the mouth, the character is one of great minerality and precision rather than roundness, with faintly bitter green notes emerging on the long finish. One of my favorite wines of the tasting, again building on the strengths and singular character of the Aÿ vineyards.

2004 Jacques Selosse Ambonnay
Much darker in color than the Aÿ, again due apparently to the greater iron content resulting from the clay in the Ambonnay soils. A rich, remarkably intense nose of pale red fruit here dominates the yeast, with white flower notes emerging on the olfactory finish. Here I found the first distinct oxidative notes, which seemed to add yet another layer of complexity to the aromatic profile. In the mouth, much more red fruit than the Aÿ and less sappy than the 2003 Mesnil, but with remarkable intensity of fruit and minerality on the finish. Another singular wine that shows a very different personality from the Aÿ.

1990 Jacques Selosse Avize
Sharon Bowman in her notes from her visit mentioned that Selosse began making wine in the more oxidative style in 1995, but the oxidative character of the nose was most evident in this wine. It was interesting that these sherry aromas remained absolutely constant in intensity through the course of the tasting, in contrast to the typical situation where a wine’s cork has been compromised. At the same time, despite the sweet soft notes on the nose, the palate was still very much dominated by its authoritative mineral character, making me think that perhaps there was something to Selosse’s arguments that oxidation could maximize minerality.

Jacques Selosse Contraste
This Blanc de Noirs apparently consisted of about 75% juice from Aÿ from 2001, with approximately equal mixtures of juice back to 1994 from the same vineyard making up the remaining 25%. The wine showed a deep golden color, with a very different nose suggesting an integration of the yeast and softer red fruit components. In the mouth, this wine delivered pretty much all of the characteristics found in the earlier tasted wines, but in a single, seamlessly integrated package. The palate impact in particular, combining roundness, vinosity, minerality, and sheer intensity of flavor all in one long rolling finish, was spectacular. “Palate fireworks” would be a pretty good description. Tasting this, I resorted to involuntary head twisting and eye rolling that had the unknown sommelier laughing at me. The finish on this one seemed to go forever—in fact, I had the impression that between the time I first took the wine into my mouth and when the finish finally faded away, the temperature in my toes had dropped a full two degrees. Incroyable, or as we might say in America, Holy Moly...