Selosse - Substance MV [deg'25]

Champagne Club by Richard Juhlin

Absolutely brilliant and the first time without dosage, which you do not feel at all. Personally, I think that Substance is only getting better and better even though the oldest beginning vintages are starting to get so old that one would fear oxide problems. However, I am no friend of storing these beauties for too long. A couple of months after the disgorgement is perfect as the combination of the healthy resilient energy and the depth is most breathtaking.

Jeannie Cho Lee

La Revue du Vin de France

Bettane et Desseauve

Jeb Dunnuck

The NV Champagne Grand Cru Blanc De Blancs Substance takes from Anselme’s solera, which began in 1996, and this release includes all vintages through 2014. It’s sourced from equal parts of two lieu-dits within Avize: Le Mont de Cramant, with a full south-facing exposition to its slope, and Les Chantereines, an east-facing parcel from the bottom of the hill. A golden straw hue, the wine is savory and herbaceous on opening, with a light smoky incense, and builds in the glass to reveal undulating notes of apricot, preserved citrus, honeycomb, and hazelnut. Moving to the palate, it offers a core of rich sapidity, concentrated with notes of citrus oils and chalky earth, although it simultaneously feels racy and linear along the sides of the palate, with a saline finish and an ultra-fine mousse. Long with umami richness and fantastic complexity, this genuinely singular wine is contemplative and noble. Drink 2025-2037. Dosage was 0.66 grams per liter.

Decanter Magazine

This grand cru blanc de blancs produced with grapes from Avize is the result of a solera started in 1986. Only 11 barrels are produced each year (totally around 1,700 bottles). Remarkable aromatic intensity for a nose of white flowers, honey, and white pepper, but what impresses most is its precision along with cool menthol overtones. On the palate, there is the telltale chalky tension of Selosse Champagnes as well as a crystalline sharpness of outline. A superb, classy Champagne sure to set off an outburst of bravos.

Vinous by Antonio Galloni

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Disgorged earlier this year, Selosse's latest NV Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Substance saw tirage in 2015 and, as usual, derives from a solera established in 1986. Unfurling in the glass with rich and complex aromas of dried fruits, orange zest, saffron, fenugreek, buttered toast and confit peach, it's full-bodied, ample and seamless, with a deep and layered core of fruit, racy acids and a long, resonant finish. As I've contended before, Substance is the cuvée that best exemplifies Selosse's contention (to paraphrase) that an oxidative élevage can purge a wine of the organic, leaving behind only the mineral—in this case, he argues, the imprint of two Avize lieux-dits, Les Chantereines and Les Marvillannes. For admirers of Selosse's wines, that makes it one of the most compelling bottlings in the portfolio, just as his detractors are likely to rank it as his most divisive.