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Jacques Selosse Initial Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru (Avize)
Sparkling (Champagne)FranceNV
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-06-24 · Published 2026-09-30 · Updated 2026-09-30
At a glance
In one line
4.5/5 — lower than Vivino's 4.6 average · world avg price US$1,336 · The entry cuvée of Anselme Selosse, the grower who brought white Burgundy's methods to Champagne.
Wine-Searcher aggregate of 33 critic reviews: 93. James Suckling pointed to green apple, quince, chalk and lemon with brioche depth and a Manzanilla-like almond-and-walnut undertone, calling it 'unique — drink now'. Vivino lists critic scores of 96 (2010) and 94 (2008) (publications not named; bottles from different disgorgements).
Market note: Average US$1,336 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher, ex-tax, checked Sep 2026). On the same basis the house's 'V.O.' is US$649 (94) and its solera cuvée 'Substance' US$901 (95) — so the entry cuvée Initial is priced higher. As a non-vintage wine, Vivino gathers all bottles in one record: of 9,356 ratings, 5,478 are fours and 3,528 fives.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“정말 최고의 밸런스, 이렇게 탄탄해도 되는가. 기포가 생생하고 묵은맛, 누룩향이 일단 압권. 우아함이 너무 돋보이는 샴.”
Show original
“honey brioche almond oak butter nutty yeast caramel vanilla grapefruit stone orange 정말 최고의 밸런스, 이렇게 탄탄해도 되는가. 기포가 생생하고 묵은맛, 누룩향이 일단 압권. 우아함이 너무 돋보이는 샴~”
What I learned today: memory opens even on days without wine.
Sunday, the bar's day off. I went to Mum's bakery early to help. Before the first loaves came out of the oven, Mum opened the lid of a big glass jar on the shelf. Her starter, kept alive for years. A sour, nutty smell, a bit like makgeolli, spread through the shop. On that one smell, a whole summer night came back.
Twenty-one, a Wednesday night in June. It was raining outside. That night Dad poured champagne not into a tall flute but into a round-bellied white-wine glass. Only a little for me. When I brought it to my nose, honey, toasted bread, almond and butter came all at once. And under them, the smell of the bakery at dawn. I said it smelled like Mum's shop. Instead of answering, Dad looked into his glass for a long time. The bubbles were fine and endless, and they held on in the mouth for a long time. Nights when Dad stayed silent that long were rare. I don't know the name of the bottle.
While the oven had a breather, I sat on the little stool at the back of the shop and opened Dad's notebook, which I'd brought in my bag, to that date. The day right after the night of the cork — just one line. "Truly the best balance," and "can it really be this firm?" The bubbles lively, the aged flavour and the yeasty, nuruk-like aroma simply overwhelming, he wrote. A champagne whose elegance stands out so much. Four and a half stars. The bottle was Jacques Selosse Initial Blanc de Blancs. I stuck on the wine-name Post-it. Dad didn't write 'bakery'; he wrote nuruk, the old word for the yeast starter used to brew rice wine. The same smell, in his own words. That long silence was probably the time it took him to choose them.
Around lunchtime Minjae dropped by to buy bread. When I told him about the starter, he asked me a serious question.
In the evening, at the kitchen table at home, I opened the twenty-sixth page of the new notebook. Today is a page with no glass. In the aroma column I wrote: 'Mum's shop at dawn = nuruk'. What I learned today: memory opens even on days without wine. And one smell can have two names.
What this wine is
Avize is a grand cru village in the Côte des Blancs. Sources differ slightly on when Jacques Selosse founded his house here (1947 in one, the 1950s in another, with the first bottling given as 1960 or 1964). The story changed in 1980, when his son Anselme took over.
Anselme studied at the viticulture school in Beaune and is said to have learned alongside celebrated white-wine producers in Burgundy. He carried those methods to Champagne. While most houses used stainless steel tanks, he fermented in oak barrels and sought to bring out the taste of each vineyard. From 1986 he introduced a solera — topping up the same wine year after year — and, Wine Spectator reports, fought the governing committee for six years for permission. In 1994 the French guide Gault Millau named him winemaker of the year. Many see him as the starting point of the grower-champagne boom; since 2019 his son Guillaume has run the estate.
'Initial' is the house's most basic blanc de blancs. It uses Chardonnay from grand cru vineyards of the Côte des Blancs centred on Avize — from the lower slopes, according to Wine Spectator — and is generally known to blend wines from three consecutive years.
What the world says
The 33 critic reviews gathered on Wine-Searcher aggregate to 93. James Suckling found green apple, quince, chalk and lemon with brioche depth and a Manzanilla-sherry undertone of almonds and walnuts, noted the oxidative character and lifted acidity, and called it 'unique'. Vivino lists a 96 from 2010 and a 94 from 2008. As a non-vintage wine, bottles vary a little with disgorgement.
The community rates it very highly. On Vivino it averages 4.6 from 9,356 ratings. There are 5,478 fours and 3,528 fives, and only 350 ratings of three or below.
The aroma keywords run apple, pear and green apple (472 mentions), brioche, toast and almond (458), honey, minerals and stone (416), citrus, lemon and grapefruit (282), and oak, butter and caramel (277). Structure: acidity 4.3/5, intensity 4.2, fizziness 4.1. One reviewer wrote that pouring it into Burgundy glasses made it far more complex.
"Almost Burgundian in style. Pure." — Vivino review, Jan 2018, 5
How I drank it
June 24, 2020, 4.5 stars. I wrote down honey, brioche, almond, oak, butter, nuts, yeast, caramel, vanilla, grapefruit, stone and orange. Twelve — one of the longest aroma lists in my notes.
Truly the best balance. Can it really be this firm, I wondered. The bubbles were lively, and the aged flavour and yeasty, nuruk-like aroma were overwhelming. Above all, a champagne whose elegance stands out.
This was the only bottle I logged that day. The day before I'd logged four, including Château Guiraud 2005 and Deutz Classic Brut. Four days earlier I'd given the same 4.5 to another Côte des Blancs blanc de blancs, Pascal Doquet Cœur de Terroir Le Mesnil 2006. My 4.5 is a little below Vivino's 4.6, but I didn't write down why I held back the fifth star. Only praise is left in the note.
Vivino community data
NV vintage rating distribution (9356 ratings, average 4.6)
| 5★ | 3528 (38%) | |
| 4★ | 5478 (59%) | |
| 3★ | 286 (3%) | |
| 2★ | 38 (0%) | |
| 1★ | 26 (0%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Tree fruit | 472 | apple 178 · pear 64 · green apple 47 · peach 42 · apricot 32 |
| Yeast & toast | 458 | brioche 140 · toast 91 · almond 73 · nutty 49 · hazelnut 26 |
| Earth & leather | 416 | honey 150 · minerals 109 · stone 28 · chalk 25 · smoke 16 |
| Citrus | 282 | citrus 107 · lemon 69 · grapefruit 32 · orange 21 · lemon peel 10 |
| Oak | 277 | oak 83 · butter 67 · caramel 46 · vanilla 37 · coffee 10 |
Structure: Acidity 4.3/5 · Intensity 4.2/5 · Fizziness 4.1/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 9356 ratings, average 4.6)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Jacques Selosse Initial?
A non-vintage blanc de blancs made by the Avize grower Jacques Selosse from Côte des Blancs grand cru Chardonnay. Barrel-fermented; 4.6 on Vivino (9,356 ratings), Wine-Searcher critic aggregate 93, 12% alcohol.
How much does it cost?
Wine-Searcher's average is US$1,336 per 750ml (ex-tax, checked Sep 2026). As of September 2026 no overseas retailer is listed on Wine-Searcher.
What food goes with it?
The Vivino community suggests pork, shellfish, rich fish and mild soft cheese. With its aged, nutty character it also suits aged cheese, butter-seared scallops and roast chicken.
Why is Selosse special?
Because Anselme Selosse, who took over the family domaine in 1980, brought white-Burgundy-style barrel fermentation to Champagne and made grower champagne that puts each vineyard first. He also introduced a solera from 1986. Many see him as the starting point of the grower-champagne boom.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Wikipedia — Jacques Selosse
- Wine Spectator — How Winegrower Anselme Selosse Shook Up Champagne
- Vins et Millésimes — The Selosse estate
- Wine-Searcher — Jacques Selosse Initial Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut
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