116 TRAVEL + LEISURE / MAY 2017
terroir, Laval explained. It’s a reminder that real champagne is an
elemental thing, a gift of the soil tilled by actual craftspeople as opposed to
a product necessarily destined to be marketed as a luxury good.
As good as his vin clair was, Laval stressed that it was not a fi nished
wine. “It is still taking its form,” he explained. “And it becomes even better
with bubbles. After all, bubbles are what we are!” Laval makes small
quantities of all his diff erent wines and champagnes—around 10,000
bottles a year, as compared with the 26 million bottles Moët & Chandon
produces annually. And he makes his red Coteaux Champenois only in
certain years. The one I was lucky enough to try had a lovely, slightly
tannic, cherry-juice quality.
Like Laval, Domaine Jacques Selosse is renowned for the rarity—and
the quality—of its bottlings. This maison is run today by 60-something
legend Anselme Selosse, a central fi gure in the viticultural revolution,
whose wines fetch signifi cant sums. Selosse makes a wide variety of
champagne at his cellar in Avize. (It’s a family operation: his son,
Guillaume, works with him at the winery while his wife, Corinne,
helps run a small, elegant hotel inside the château .) A tasting here
is an opportunity to experience everything that Champagne’s terroir
is capable of—specifi c parcels, vintages, blends, and styles. Selosse
surprised me by mentioning that he even makes a Coteaux Champenois ,
although he does it in such small batches that he ends up giving most of
his bottles as gifts to friends and family.
“Our whole aim is to highlight where our wines are made,” Selosse
said. “What is champagne? It is a wine from Champagne. You need to be
able to taste where it is from, which means it shouldn’t be insipid or
neutral. When you get a sparkling wine made by a technician you can’t
tell where it was made.”
Selosse has the ability to explain Champagne’s complexities in
simple terms. “The idea of terroir exists all over the whole planet,”
he said as songbirds chirped in the background. “The United States,
for example, has barbecue culture. I always tell Americans to think of
barbecue as a way to explain what’s happening here in Champagne.
Sunday barbecue has an ambience around it, a ceremonial aspect, a way
of doing it. The sauces and the rubs and the methods of marinating or
smoking diff er from state to state and from region to region and even
from producer to producer. The same thing applies with champagne.”
Although Selosse doesn’t sell Coteaux Champenois wines—he says
they’d be too expensive—I was ecstatic to taste his red wine, the Lubie
rouge, when I visited. As soon as I tried it, I could tell that it is what wine
used to be in Champagne: a wine for kings. It had a sensationally fl oral
bouquet : a combination of rose, raspberry, and lychee. It was a glimpse
into the past, yet as I tasted it, I also felt like I could see a future in which
bubble-less champagne could become as important as it once was.
“A bubble is, in eff ect, a defect—but what a remarkable defect it is,”
Selosse pointed out. “It’s a fault that became an accessory. And now that
accident is part of the texture of our wines. It’s an espuma in the mouth,
like a pillow your taste buds recline on. It’s something that gives consistency.
And really, we don’t have the choice: our identity is in the bubbles.”
“But what about the fact that all champagnes used to be still wines?”
I pressed him.
“Centuries ago?” he retorted. “Nobody today knows what those
wines were really like. The fact is, tradition is something that renews
itself. Tradition does not mean being bound by the past. It simply
means respecting those who came before, and knowing where you’re
headed—while simultaneously living in the present.”THE DETAILS
HOTELS
Hôtel Les Avisés A renovated 10-room château in
the heart of the Côte des Blancs. Its restaurant serves
traditional dishes and features an extensive wine list
curated by legendary winemaker Anselme Selosse.
Avize; doubles from US$268; selosse-lesavises.com
La Maison de Rhodes This hotel is housed in a
centuries-old architectural marvel and has a lovely
medieval garden just a few blocks from the cathedral
in Troyes. Doubles from US$224; maisonderhodes.com
L’A s s i e t t e C h a m p e n o i s e This property on the
outskirts of Reims is popular for its Michelin-three-
starred restaurant. Tinqueux; doubles from US$199;
assiettechampenoise.comRESTAURANTS
Aux Crieurs de Vin A natural-wine bar known for
its fantastic country cooking and store stocked with
plenty of organic champagnes and other French
varietals. If you see a bottle of Jacques Lassaigne’s
white Coteaux Champenois, get it. Troyes;
auxcrieursdevin.fr
Glue Pot This pub is among the best places in the
region to get classic bistro fare. Reims; prix fixe from
US$13; fb.com/glue.pot
La Gare This restaurant inside a former railway
station in the village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is run
by wine-making estate Robert Moncuit. Its bistro
cooking is as good as its blanc de blancs. Prix fixe
US$28; lagarelemesnil.com
L’ É p i c e r i e a u B o n M a n g e r Stock up on groceries
and the finest artisanal champagnes after grabbing
a bite to eat at Aline and Eric Serva’s store. Reims;
aubonmanger.fr
Racine To experience the full range of Kazuyuki
Ta n a k a’s m e t i c u l o u s ly c o m p o s e d d i s h e s , g o f o r t h e
US$100 ‘Daisuki’ tasting menu. Tasting menus from
US$75; racine.reWINERIES
Bérêche et Fils This family-owned company’s
domaine in Ludes, in the Montagne de Reims region,
can be visited on Fridays between 10.30 am and
4 pm by appointment. bereche.com
Champagne Georges Laval This popular domaine
sits on a tiny side street in Cumières. It produces only
a limited number of bottles of Coteaux Champenois
a year, so make sure to snag one while you’re
there. georgeslaval.fr
Champagne Marion-Bosser Situated next to
Dom Pérignon’s abbey in Hautvillers, this domaine
has a simple two-bedroom apartment available for
rent by the night. champagnemarionbosser.fr
Jacques Selosse To do a tasting here, guests must
stay at the owner’s hotel, Les Avisés, and prebook
a spot at one of Anselme Selosse’s VIP tastings,
which cost US$32 per person and are held at 6 pm
on Mondays and Thursdays and 11 am on Saturdays.
selosse-lesavises.com114 TRAVEL + L E I S U R E / M AY 2 0 1 7