Jean-Marc Seleque Champagne Soliste Pinot Noir Premier Cru Les Gayeres 2019 750ml

The standout bottling in the Soliste series this year, the 2019 Soliste Pinot Noir Pierry 1er Cru Les Gayères originates from west-facing Pinot Noir vines planted in 1974, where clay and silt rest atop chalk subsoils. Fermented and matured entirely in oak barrels (approximately 20% new), it was disgorged in March 2024 with a dosage of two grams per liter. The nose is redolent of peach, bitter orange and dried flowers mingled with pastry and a faint hint of resin. Medium- to full-bodied, it is concentrated and layered—ample and balanced—with succulent yet racy acidity and a long, saline finish. Like the rest of the Soliste range, this wine is sourced from a parcel cultivated exclusively by horse.

• Country: France
• Region: Champagne
• Size: 750ml

Varietal

Champagne Blend

The sparkling wines of Champagne have been revered by wine drinkers for hundreds of years, and even today they maintain their reputation for excellence of flavor and character, and are consistently associated with quality, decadence, and a cause for celebration. Their unique characteristics are partly due to the careful blending of a small number of selected grape varietals, most commonly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These grapes, blended in fairly equal quantities, give the wines of Champagne their wonderful flavors and aromas, with the Pinot Noir offering length and backbone, and the Chardonnay varietal giving its acidity and dry, biscuity nature. It isn’t unusual to sometimes see Champagne labeled as ‘blanc de blanc’, meaning it is made using only Chardonnay varietal grapes, or ‘blanc de noir’, which is made solely with Pinot Noir.