2007 Jacques Selosse, Millesime

Marking the first vintage where Guillaume joined his father at the domaine, the 2007 Champagne Millésime Extra Brut includes Pinot Noir from Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and the rest Chardonnay from Grand Cru parcels. A bright straw hue, it’s classic and attractive right out of the gate, with a brilliantly layered, floral perfume of lemon curd, white peach, and almond croissant. The palate is inviting and attractive and has a linear drive without feeling austere. It has a well-rounded mid-palate with a scalloped edge and a refined mousse that allows the silky, glycerol texture of the wine underneath to shine. It’s further supported by crunchy salinity and a seamless persistence that propels the wine to a fresh and mouthwatering finish. Drink 2023-2033.

The 2007 Extra-Brut Millesime Grand Cru represents a major stylistic and generational shift at Selosse, as it is the first vintage Champagne Guillaume Selosse made with a vision of using the best parcels across the entire estate, rather than focusing on the best lieu-dits in Avize, as his father did. The 2007 is powerful, ample and resonant, with plenty of textural intensity from the 30% Pinot in the blend. Beautifully balanced, with striking transparency as well as nuance, the 2007 is a total knock-out. Dosage is 2 grams per liter.

Whereas Selosse's vintage bottling was formerly derived exclusively from Avize, the 2007 Extra-Brut Millésime is the first that draws on all the estate's holdings, with the vins clairs chosen in a blind tasting. Wafting from the glass with aromas of yellow apple, toasted almonds, nougat, shortbread, warm spices, honeycomb and white flowers, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with incisive acids, chalky structure and a tensile profile. A bottle drunk in Burgundy several weeks after my visit to the domaine was just as striking.