Jacques Selosse Champagne and HôteLes Avisés
John and I returned home yesterday from a trip to Paris…a bit of business and a bit of pleasure (more pleasure for me as John had business meetings every day). It was a quick trip, 4 nights, but I didn’t care! I have been wanting to go to France for a very long time and when this opportunity came up I jumped at the chance. My good friend Anne also came as her husband and my husband work for the same company. I had a loose itinerary for us and it was full-on for three days. The guys finished mid afternoon on Friday and we planned a night out taking in a show and afterwards experienced Parisian life by eating dinner at Pershing Hall at 11pm! That night was magical (sigh).
Saturday was reserved for a trip to the Champagne region of France. A 60 minute train ride from Paris to Épernay meant we could see a bit of the countryside and not have to worry about traffic. We are no strangers to champagne and it was 5 years ago John and I heard about this Grower Champagne. It’s been so long in our quest to purchase this champagne that I can’t recall where we first read about it. It was either an article from the Financial Times How To Spend It magazine or it was something I read from Robert Parker. Whenever we traveled to a new country we would ask the local bottle stores if they carried Jacques Selosse champagne and the answer was either they didn’t know about it or weren’t able to buy. We came close when we were visiting Hong Kong three years ago but Watson’s Wine shop said they just sold the last bottle before we arrived. You know when you’re told you can’t get something, there’s this burning desire to hunt for it no matter what. I initially wanted to do a champagne tasting tour with our favorite bubbly, Veuve Clicquot, but they were full. Selosse is a small champagne house and I didn’t think they provided champagne tasting to the public. I always say that when one door closes another opens and so it was that fate handed us an opportunity to visit Monsieur Selosse.
To give you a brief background on Selosse champagne, Jacques Selosse was founded in the 1950’s and the first vintage was bottled in 1960. In 1980 Anselme Selosse took over the estate from his father (Jacques) and on Saturday he told us that in two years his son will take over the family business. Anselme studied oenology in Burgundy – not in Champagne – where most study so you could say he’s a bit of a rebel in the champagne world.
We met up with Anselme along with a small group from Sweden to hear what makes his champagne so unique and why his competition has yet to understand or copy the quality. Even though he spoke in French and Frederique loosely translated for us, we felt his intense passion. He started off by saying you need a good base (grand cru) and his base of vineyards are in Avize, Cramant, and Oger. We sampled champagne from these vineyards and were amazed at the differences from each one. He went on to explain the importance of the relationship between healthy soils and the wines that are nurtured from them. Because of low yields and meticulous attention to his vines, he is able to harvest fruit that is expressive. As part of his ethos for wine making, Anselme points out it’s important to use indigenous yeasts for fermentation and to store wines in oak wood barrels. Most other champagne houses use stainless steel. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is another area he believes should be added in small amounts and states playfully that his wines don’t need makeup to be beautiful! He told the group that you must be kind to the earth and use only what is needed (including nuturing chemical-free vineyards and terroir-based wines). He has been touted as a biodynamic pioneer but he prefers no labels attached to his methods.
After the tasting we ventured across the driveway to HôteLes Avisés, a 200 year old château beautifully renovated to house 10 rooms. The hotel opened mid 2011. Again, another pleasant surprise as we were told when we booked the champagne tasting that the restaurant was full. Le Restaurant focuses on seasonally, local grown produce. Chef Stéphane Rossillon says; “My cuisine comes from the heart. Through it, I want to please our customers, first by giving myself the pleasure of carefully selecting the products, seasonings and cooking methods. It’s an extraordinary privilege for me to create menus that harmonise with Anselme Selosse’s champagnes.” And this was evident in every bite…the food was divine!
The Culinary Chase’s Note: The champagne tasting is 15 euros per person and is worth every penny! I enjoyed listening to Anselme’s unique philosophy on champagne and his natural ability to be in tune with the terroir. Make sure to reserve ahead of time especially if you want to eat in their restaurant as the seating is limited to 20. Chef Stéphane handed me an apron once he found out that I loved to cook. I said I could be his sous chef! We chose the set menu which was hand written in chalk on the black door to the kitchen and thoroughly enjoyed each dish. All agreed that this is a place to visit again. Prendre plaisir!