Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
This release of NV Champagne Blanc de Blancs V.O. Extra Brut (Version Originale) was disgorged in April of 2021. It pours a rich straw color with a golden hue, and the nose is expressive, intoxicating, and round, revealing a generous liqueur of hazelnuts, praline, golden apple, and toast. Dry, with rich extract and concentration throughout, the texture is fine yet persistent with chalkiness and underlying tension, with its toffee notes continuing to envelop the long finish. It is drinking exceptionally well and should continue to drink well over the next 10 or more years. Best after 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Based on the 2018 vintage, incorporating reserve wines from 2017 and 2016 and disgorged in May 2025 without dosage, Selosse’s NV Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru V.O. (Version Originale) is released through several disgorgements each year. Opening from the glass with aromas of dried flowers, beeswax, orange peel and pear, it is further nuanced by sandalwood and cedar nut. On the palate, it is a full-bodied and expressive wine with a deep core of fruit, its chalky structuring extract sustaining a vivid sensation of freshness. Laden with bright acids and enlivened by a pinpoint mousse, it concludes with a long, saline finish. It is sourced from the east-facing upper reaches of the slopes in Avize and Cramant, where the hard chalk lies close to the surface—sites that are cooler and more windswept than those that inform Initial—and that harbor a considerable proportion of virus-affected vines, yielding small, concentrated fruit.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’