Jm Seleque Solessence Brut Rose

"Sélèque began in 1965, when Henri Sélèque planted his first plots of vines with the help of his father-in-law, Jean Bagnost, president of the Pierry wine cooperative. Henri's son Richard moved the winery into the modern era, and since 2008 third gen Jean-Marc oversees the estate, based in the Coteaux Sud d’Epernay. Since Jean-Marc arrived, no herbicides have been used at the estate. This pretty pink fizz opens with a garden of pink florals braced with pink grapefruit acidity and a pomegranate pop. Cherry, red currant, candied apple dominate the luxuriously pastry-lined, medium bodied palate to the snappy, red apple skin finish. The rosé is the same base blend as the blanc Solessence (45 chardonnay, 40 meunier and 15 pinot noir from seven villages). The majority of the wine is fermented in stainless with full MLF, though 10 percent is fermented in oak barrels and without MLF. For the rosé, they add 10 percent pinot meunier (infused after two days with skins) as well as five percent Coteaux Champenois sourced from Les Gayères. The 40 percent reserve wines are stored in a perpetual reserve (mix of tanks and barrels) that dates back to 2000. My bottle was based on the 2016 vintage, and spent a minimum of 18 months on the lees before being disgorged in July 2018 with 3 g/l dosage." - Anthony Gismondi on Wine