Initial Blanc de Blancs
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2032
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Seared scallops, roasted chicken with wild mushrooms, aged hard cheeses
✨ Technical Specifications
Jacques Selosse's 'Initial' Blanc de Blancs is a masterclass in the revolutionary, terroir-driven philosophy that redefined modern Champagne. Crafted by Anselme Selosse, this cuvée is a blend of three distinct vintages of Chardonnay sourced from the chalky soils of three legendary Grand Cru villages: Avize, Cramant, and Oger. Unlike traditional Champagne houses that prize uniformity, Selosse embraces vintage variation and oxidative complexity. The wine is fermented in oak casks using indigenous yeasts and undergoes extended lees aging before being disgorged with minimal dosage. This results in a remarkably vinous, texturally rich Champagne that bridges the gap between fine white Burgundy and sparkling wine, offering notes of bruised apple, toasted brioche, and a profound, salty minerality.
🍾 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
Chardonnay
🍷 Alcohol By Volume (ABV)
12%