Exquise Sec (Disgorged 2018)
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2030
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Foie gras, pear tart, spicy Thai cuisine
✨ Technical Specifications
Jacques Selosse's 'Exquise' is an extraordinary anomaly in the modern Champagne landscape—a Sec cuvée crafted with the same obsessive dedication as the estate's legendary dry masterpieces. Sourced from the Grand Cru chalk soils of Cramant and Oger in the Côte des Blancs, this Blanc de Blancs pays homage to the historical 19th-century preference for sweeter Champagnes. Anselme Selosse rejects the modern industry practice of using high dosage to mask inferior fruit; instead, he uses a dosage of approximately 22 to 24 grams per liter of organic grape must to highlight, rather than hide, the wine's intense mineral core. Fermented in oak casks and aged extensively, the disgorgement from 2018 reveals a sublime tension between rich, honeyed stone fruits, toasted brioche, and a piercing, saline acidity that is uniquely Selosse.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in 1949 by Jacques Selosse in the Grand Cru village of Avize, Domaine Jacques Selosse emerged as the spiritual vanguard of the grower Champagne revolution under the leadership of Jacques’ son Anselme, who took control in 1980, and grandson Guillaume. Spanning roughly 7.5 to 8 hectares across prime terroirs in Avize, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Aÿ, Ambonnay, and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, the estate champions low yields and chemical-free viticulture rooted in organic and biodynamic principles aligned with lunar cycles. Selosse redefined Champagne vinification by applying Burgundian techniques, fermenting base wines with indigenous yeasts in oak barrels, extending lees contact, and embracing intentional oxidative maturation with minimal dosage. Renowned for its singular solera-aged Blanc de Blancs 'Substance' and parcel-specific Lieux-Dits collection (including Les Carelles and Sous le Mont), the domaine crafts vinosity and textural authority that capture pure, uncompromising chalk-driven minerality.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Chardonnay
🍷 Alcohol By Volume (ABV)
12%