Extremely Rare:
Selosse Lieux-Dits
Mareuil-sur-Aÿ Sous le Mont NV
Ambonnay Le Bout du Clos NV
Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger Les Carelles NV
"No Champagne grower is as renowned or as influential" - Peter Liem
This was not an easy offer to pull off.
If all of the cult Champagnes of visionary producer Anselme Selosse are hard to find (and they are, painfully so), his single-vineyard offerings are practically non-existent.
Beginning in 2003, Selosse turned his attention to what would become the pinnacle of his line-up: single-vineyard bottlings, six in total, made in the tiniest of quantities. (Two of the six lieux-dits are only available in special mixed 6-packs). The U.S. sees only a fraction of the minuscule quantities released each year.
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Getting my hands on any of these super-rare bottles was a serious test, but after tons of hard work, I've managed to procure enough of three of them to offer today: Le Bout du Clos, Les Carelles, and Sous le Mont. There are only a couple other listings for these bottlings in the country, and these other offerings can't claim all three.
Selosse is revered for his singular winemaking. Apply this philosophy to single-vineyard wines, and the results are nothing short of magic. His lieux-dits take the ridiculous resonance, the breadth of complexity and the finesse that are Selosse's calling cards to the extreme. They are incredible, unforgettable and absolutely compelling expressions of Champagne.
Each lieu-dit is a tour de force boldly displaying the depth and nuance of the Selosse style and boasting a marked individual expression of their respective sites. Selosse puts each of his lieux-dits through a mini-solera system, which contribute to the hauntingly deep complexity the wines display.
Let's start with the Mareuil-sur-Aÿ Sous le Mont. Even among a decidedly singular cast, this wine stands out . It comes from a unique terroir where the soil is stained with calcium magnesium carbonate. The vineyard shares the same hill as Clos des Goisses, only on the other side, and thus faces east. It shows plenty of energy and finesse along with smokey, spicey, slightly bitter and saturating yet nimble palate presence.
Then, there's Le Bout du Clos from Ambonnay. The grandeur of terroir is front and center. It's a wine of tremendous refinement, class and length managing at once an ethereal grace and a searing, concentrated focus.
Finally, there's Mesnil Les Carelles. In some ways this is a really unusual expression of Mesnil. It has a richness that people don't generally associate with Mesnil - it's as much a sign of Selosse's distinct style as it is a testimony to his ultra-conscientious work in the vineyards. It does have Mesnil's distinctive chalky minerality and super-refined and precise kinetic energy.
These are once-in-a-lifetime kind of wines: beautiful, singular and some of the most complex and thought-provoking wines out there.
Please give us your ideal order and we'll try our best.
To order, reply offers@crushwineco.com email or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine and Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits