V.O.

The wine in this vintage

V.O., short for Version Originale, is the blanc de blancs Anselme Selosse regards as the purest expression of his terroir: Grand Cru Chardonnay from Avize, Cramant and Oger, a blend of several harvests, with minimal extra brut dosage so the wine can speak unfiltered. The name asserts precisely that authenticity. The nose reveals lemon, green apple, chalk, almond, yeast and an elegant oxidative nuance; on the palate it is taut, vinous and saline, with a fine mousse and a long finish. James Suckling awarded it 98 points. Ready to drink, it grows richer 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

• 98 James Suckling
• 96 Robert Parker
• 94 Antonio Galloni
• 16/20 Jancis Robinson

Technical details

Producer

Jacques Selosse

Region

Champagne

Country

Francia

Type

Bollicine

Vintage

Non vintage

When to drink

Hold, still evolving

Critics' average

96/100

Sizes

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

eWibe code

0830900