Il etait une fois...
⏳ Drinking Window
Designed for immense longevity, this wine is highly stable and can be enjoyed now or cellared for 20 to 30 years.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
foie gras, blue cheese, tarte tatin
✨ Technical Specifications
An ultra-rare, almost mythical creation from Anselme Selosse, 'Il était une fois...' (meaning 'Once upon a time...') is a sweet dessert wine that pays homage to the historical, pre-sparkling heritage of the Champagne region. Crafted from Chardonnay grapes harvested in the Grand Cru village of Avize, this cuvée is produced using a solera system where multiple vintages are blended and aged in oak casks. Selosse allows some botrytis to develop on the grapes, concentrating the sugars and flavors, resulting in a wine of immense complexity. It bridges the gap between the oxidative, mineral-driven style of Selosse's Champagnes and the rich, honeyed depth of noble rot, showing notes of dried apricots, toasted nuts, and exotic spices, all framed by the signature chalky acidity of the Côte des Blancs.
🍾 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.
🍇 Base Ingredient
Chardonnay