Contraste Blanc de Noirs Brut
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2038
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck, creamy mushroom risotto, aged Comté cheese
✨ Technical Specifications
Jacques Selosse's 'Contraste' is a legendary, highly coveted Blanc de Noirs that serves as a masterclass in the expressive potential of Pinot Noir from the Grand Cru village of Aÿ. Originally created by Anselme Selosse as a counterpoint to his iconic Chardonnay-dominant cuvées, Contraste was crafted using a solera system of perpetual reserve wines, a technique that would later evolve into the celebrated single-vineyard 'La Côte Faron' bottling. This wine is celebrated for its deep, vinous character, oxidative complexity, and intense minerality, born from low yields, indigenous yeast fermentation in oak casks, and minimal dosage. It represents a historic chapter in Champagne's revolution, showcasing a bold, structured, and deeply intellectual expression of Aÿ terroir.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in the 1950s by Jacques Selosse and propelled to legendary status by his visionary son Anselme Selosse, Domaine Jacques Selosse is based in the Grand Cru village of Avize in the heart of Champagne's Côte des Blancs. Anselme took over the estate in 1980 after studying in Burgundy, fundamentally revolutionizing the grower Champagne movement through meticulous, non-interventionist viticulture, minimal yields, and native yeast fermentations in oak barrels. Renowned for a singular, vinous, and lightly oxidative style, the house crafts profoundly complex cuvées, including the solera-aged Substance, the precise Initial and Version Originale, and an acclaimed collection of single-parcel Lieux-dits. Today, along with Anselme's son Guillaume, the domaine continues to set the benchmark for terroir-focused, artisanal Champagne with unrivaled depth and expressive minerality.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Pinot Noir