Initial

The wine in this vintage

Initial is the gateway to the world of Jacques Selosse: a Grand Cru blanc de blancs made from Chardonnay grown in Avize, Cramant and Oger, blending several consecutive harvests. The name evokes a starting point, yet the wine already carries the full stylistic signature of the house: fermentation in wood, long lees ageing and restrained dosage. The glass reveals quince, candied citrus, brioche, hazelnut and chalky minerality; the palate is vinous, with a fine mousse and a savoury, persistent finish. James Suckling awarded it 97 points. Ready to drink, it gains complexity with a few years in the cellar.

The producer · Jacques Selosse

Jacques Selosse is the grower-producer who, more than any other, has changed the way Champagne is thought about. The house was born in Avize, a Grand Cru of the Côte des Blancs, where Jacques Selosse began bottling his own grapes in the mid-twentieth century; from the 1970s his son Anselme, trained in Burgundy, turned it into a laboratory of ideas, and today the reins have passed to Anselme's son Guillaume. The vineyards, just under eight hectares, lie mainly in Avize, Cramant, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger for Chardonnay, with Pinot Noir parcels in Aÿ, Ambonnay and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. Anselme brought a vigneron's outlook to Champagne: soil-focused farming, low yields, very ripe fruit, native-yeast fermentations in wood, long lees ageing, minimal dosage and the perpetual reserve behind Substance. The result is vinous, nobly oxidative wines deeply tied to place, which have inspired an entire generation of growers.

Critics' scores

• 97 James Suckling
• 96 Wine Spectator
• 95 Robert Parker
• 95 Decanter
• 17/20 Jancis Robinson

Technical details

Producer

Jacques Selosse

Region

Champagne

Country

Francia

Type

Bollicine

Vintage

Non vintage

When to drink

Hold, still evolving

Critics' average

95.8/100

Sizes

75 cl, Magnum 150 cl, Case of 6 × 75 cl

eWibe code

0830100