J. Selosse Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs ‘Version Originale’

The latest NV Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru V.O. (Version Originale) is based on the 2018 vintage with some 40% reserve wines from 2017 and 2016 and was disgorged in July 2024 without dosage. This is another success, bursting from the glass with aromas of dried flowers, walnut, and fig. It’s sourced from top of the slopes in Avize and Cramant, sites that are cooler and windier than those that inform the Initial, which helps preserve acidity better than the lower-altitude vineyards. The yields here are low, and the berries are small, resulting in high concentration. With hard chalk very close to the surface, it’s a flamboyant wine with tensile personality, laden with incisive acids, complemented by a pinpoint mousse and concluding with a long, bone-dry finish. Guillaume observes that the “Initial is more horizontal, while V.O. is more vertical,” and I agree.

Drink: now-2045