Our Wines & Spirits

William Kelley: The latest release of Selosse's NV Grand Cru Blancde Blancs Substance was disgorged in November 2018 and derives froma solera established in 1986. In a sense, it's the cuvee that bestexemplifies his contention (to paraphrase) that oxidation duringelevage can purge a wine of the organic, leaving behind only themineral and thus the imprint of its terroir—- in this case, twoAvize lieux-dits, Les Chantereines and Les Marvillannes. Foradmirers of Selosse's wines, that makes it one of the mostcompelling bottlings in the portfolio, just as his detractors arelikely to rank it as his most divisive. Wafting from the glass withnotions of citrus oil, dried fruits, walnuts, candied peel, finosherry and crushed chalk, this particular rendition of Substance isfull-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with a rich, muscular coreevoking intensely sapid, saline sensations and concluding with along, sapid finish. While readers unfamiliar with Selosse's stylemight find it disconcerting in its refusal to conform toChampagne's norms, I loved it.