“I cross my fingers for Australia!” says Oriane Sélèque, as we know the wines aren’t arriving against a typical Champagne backdrop.
But as is constantly noted between wine people in Australia and across the world, we need each other, we need hope and we need to appreciate the finer things in life. And to celebrate whatever, wherever, whenever we can.
This latest shipment from JmSélèque is the most diverse of our relationship so far, with no fewer than four single-plot Soliste wines from three different varieties. The highlighting of these plots is in itself a kind of micro-celebration – the sort that only a small, dedicated grower can realise.
But then Jean-Marc and Oriane cherish every block and harvest throughout their range. The non-vintage blanc de blancs, Quintette, is four-fifths based on a single year and comes from five treasured Chardonnay plots. Solessence (“essence of the soil”) is where the fun starts, and even these three excellent wines are based on the same seven villages in and around the Sélèques’ home in Pierry.
So it is, then, that nothing is taken for granted; Jean-Marc and Oriane shine a light on what’s special right the way through the range.
With skill, flair, vision and optimism, they craft wines to invigorate, to energise and to enrapture.
And to comfort, too. Let’s not forget that.
NV JmSélèque Solessence Extra Brut (2018 base) $103
MAGNUM $224
50% Chardonnay, 40% Meunier, 10% Pinot Noir. Fruit from seven crus on mostly flinty clay on chalky subsoil: Pierry, Moussy, Épernay, Mardeuil, Dizy, Boursault, Vertus. Base vintage 2018, 70% stainless steel tank and 30% oak barrels. 50% of the blend from wines in perpetual reserve (in tank and oak barrels). Two years ageing under crown seal. No fining or filtration. Dosage 2g/L.
NV JmSélèque Solessence Nature $125
50% Chardonnay, 40% Meunier, 10% Pinot Noir. Fruit from seven crus on mostly flinty clay on chalky subsoil: Pierry, Moussy, Épernay, Mardeuil, Dizy, Boursault, Vertus. Base vintage 2014, with 50% of the blend from wines in perpetual reserve. 80% stainless steel tank and 20% oak barrels. Five years ageing on crown seal. No fining or filtration. Zero dosage.
“An extra aging of our Solessence cuvée. A fine-tuned symphony, the wine is in its natural balance. Ideal pairing with seafood and savoury dishes.” – Jean-Marc & Oriane Sélèque
The NV Brut Nature Solessence Nature 7 Villages is a blend of old-vine Chardonnay, Meunier and Pinot Noir bottled with no dosage. Time in the cellar (the base vintage is 2014) gives the wine a natural feeling of richness and depth that is quite compelling. Dried lemon, chamomile, crushed flowers and herbs lend a very pretty savory character throughout. This is such a pretty and expressive Champagne. Disgorged: October, 2019. 92 points. Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media November 2020
NV JmSélèque Solessence Rosé Extra Brut $122
MAGNUM $256
45% Chardonnay, 40% Meunier (of which 10% skin-contact Meunier Infusion from Les Charmiers, Pierry 1er Cru) and 15% Pinot Noir of which 5% is Coteaux Champenois from Les Gayères, Pierry 1er Cru). Fruit from seven crus on mostly flinty clay on chalky subsoil: Pierry, Moussy, Épernay, Mardeuil, Dizy, Boursault, Vertus. Base vintage 2018, with 40% of the blend from wines in perpetual reserve. 70% stainless steel tank and 30% oak barrels. No fining or filtration. Two years ageing under crown seal. Dosage 2g/L.
“The fruity flavour of the Meunier, the pedigree of Pinot Noir, the freshness of our Solessence blend. The harmony of flavours.” – Jean-Marc & Oriane Sélèque
NV JmSélèque Quintette Extra Brut $139
MAGNUM $323
100% Chardonnay based on the 2016 harvest. From five parcels: Vertus 1er Cru La Justice planted in 1950; Dizy 1er Cru Moque-Bouteille planted in 1985; Epernay Les Frileux planted in 1959; Mardeuil Les Basses Ronces planted in 1982; and Pierry 1er Cru Les Tartières/Les Porgeons planted in 1990 and 1985. Soils are a mix of silty clay and flinty clay on a chalky subsoil. The musts were vinified in oak barrels (70%) and stainless steel (30%) and bottled without fining or filtration. The blend contains 20% reserve wines from a solera that began in 2012. Following secondary fermentation, the wine spent three years ageing on lees on crown seal. Dosage 2g/L.
“Five terroirs for a full expression of the Chardonnay, complete and racy.” – Jean-Marc & Oriane Sélèque
Sélèque’s latest NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Quintette, based on the 2016 vintage, was disgorged in October 2019 with two grams per litre dosage. Unwinding in the glass with scents of crisp orchard fruit, freshly baked bread, citrus oil and blanched almonds, it’s medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a layered core, tangy acids and chalky structuring extract, complemented by an elegant pinpoint mousse. This has turned out beautifully.
94 points. William Kelley, Wine Advocate
2016 JmSélèque Soliste Chardonnay Brut Nature $206
100% Chardonnay from the Pierry 1er cru parcels of Les Tartières and Les Porgeons, planted in 1990 and 1985 respectively. It’s on the mid-slope of a south-facing limestone ridge with Campanian chalk soils. It features deep clay with the presence of flint calcite. The wine was vinified in oak barrels (100%). The wine is aged on lees on natural cork for four years. It is unfined and unfiltered and was given a dosage of 3g/L at disgorgement.
“A blend in the press of two adjoining plots located in the heart of the Pierry Terroir, at the junction between the deep Sparnacian clays and the flush Campanian chalk. A pure expression of the complexity, an interplay of flesh and tension, of Coteaux Sud d´Epernay Chardonnays.” – Jean-Marc & Oriane Sélèque
2016 JmSélèque Soliste Meunier Extra Brut $206
100% Meunier from the very special Pierry 1er cru parcel Les Gouttes d’Or, which was planted in 1951. The vines are at the bottom of the hill, on ochre clays with strong a presence of flint calcite, on Campanian chalk. The wine was vinified in oak barrels (100%). The wine is aged on lees on natural cork for four years. It is unfined and unfiltered and was given a dosage of 2g/L at disgorgement.
“The nobility of great Meunier, on a historical terroir with massale selection vines planted in 1951, gives us a wine of precision and finesse.” – Jean-Marc & Oriane Sélèque
2014 JmSélèque Soliste Meunier Extra Brut $190
100% Meunier from the very special Pierry 1er cru parcel Les Gouttes d’Or, which was planted in 1951. The vines are at the bottom of the hill, on ochre clays with strong a presence of flint calcite, on Campanian chalk. The wine was vinified in oak barrels (50%) and a concrete egg 50%. The wine is aged on lees on cork for four years. It is unfined and unfiltered and was given a dosage of 2g/L at disgorgement.
Preserved lemons, guava peel, green mangoes, green papaya, almonds, shortbread, muffin and biscuits. Medium-to full-bodied but very layered with tightly poised acidity that takes the bright citrus and stone fruit by storm. Quite long and mineral on the finish. Drink now.
94 points. Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com
2016 JmSélèque Soliste Pinot Noir Extra Brut $206
100% Pinot Noir from the Pierry 1er Cru parcel of Les Gayères, which was planted in 1975. It’s on the mid-slope of a west-facing limestone ridge with Campanian chalk soils. It features flinty clay and small lumps of calcite. It is vinified entirely in oak barrels, and is aged on lees under natural cork for four years. Bottled without fining or filtration with a dosage of 2g/L.
“Rooted in the thickness of flinty clays, proud vines give us small black grapes with crisp skins, taking advantage of the west winds and the sunset.” – Jean-Marc & Oriane Sélèque
2015 JmSélèque Soliste Meunier Rosé Extra Brut $206
100% Meunier from the Pierry 1er Cru parcel of Les Charmiers, which was planted in 1964. It’s on the mid-slope of a south-facing limestone ridge with Campanian chalk soils. It features flinty clay and small lumps of calcite. It is vinified entirely in oak barrels, and is aged on lees under natural cork for five years. Bottled without fining or filtration with a dosage of 1.5g/L.
“Perched on a limestone ridge forged by the wind. A rosé for the table which shows once again all the complexity of Meunier.” – Jean-Marc & Oriane Sélèque
Sélèque’s deep-hued 2015 Extra-Brut Infusion Meunier Pierry 1er Cru Les Charmiers wafts from the glass with scents of raspberries and plums with notions of blood orange and underbrush. Full-bodied, vinous and textural, it’s broad and muscular, with a ripe core of fruit, succulent acids and a delicate pinpoint mousse. The ripe vintage translates to quite an extreme style this year, but I loved it.
93 points. William Kelley, Wine Advocate
2013 JmSélèque Partition Extra Brut $190
72% Chardonnay, 14 % Meunier and 14% Pinot Noir. The parcels harvested for this blend are: Vertus 1er Cru La Justice planted in 1950; Dizy 1er Cru Moque-Bouteille planted in 1985; Epernay Les Frileux planted in 1959; Mardeuil Les Basses Ronces planted in 1982; Pierry 1er Cru Les Tartières/Les Porgeons planted in 1990 et 1985; and Pierry 1er Cru Les Gouttes d’Or planted in 1951; and Pierry 1er Cru Les Gayères planted in 1975. The soils are a mix of silty clay and flinty clay on a chalky subsoil. The musts were vinified entirely in oak barrels and bottles without fining or filtration. The wine was aged on lees on cork for five years before disgorgement with a dosage of 2g/L.
Disgorged in March 2019 with two grams per litre dosage, the Chardonnay-based 2013 Extra-Brut Partition is a blend of seven barrels, each derived from a different lieu-dit, from four different communes. It opens in the glass with an incipiently complex bouquet of crisp yellow orchard fruit, green mango, fresh pastry and white flowers, followed by a medium to full-bodied, tight-knit and chiselled palate that’s concentrated and vinous but youthfully austere, with uncompromisingly bracing acids despite evident fruit maturity—an impression surely emphasized by its recent disgorgement, as the wine unwinds very promisingly when followed over several days. The finish is saline and penetrating. While this is sufficiently dry and tangy that it will mostly appeal to unabashed acid-lovers, it’s a beautifully rendered cuvée from Sélèque.
94 points. William Kelley, Wine Advocate
NV JmSélèque Ratafia $80
Liqueur composed of grape must (tails of the domaine pressings) and pure alcohol of the Marne (94.5% alcohol). 50% Chardonnay, 40% Meunier, 10% Pinot Noir. 35% from 2019 + 65% perpetual reserve wine started in 2010. Grapes grown in Pierry, Moussy, Epernay, Mardeuil, Dizy, Boursault and Vertus. Clay-limestone on Campanian chalk. The best-quality tails are selected from the pressings. Light fermentation starts before arresting with alcohol for a finished product at 18%. Ageing in 600-litre oak barrels. RS 130g/L.