JacquessonDizy, Grande Vallée
Producer profile
PL 16 mentions! "One of the region's most respected houses," founded in 1798 and important during the nineteenth century, it was purchased by the Chiquet family in 1974. Brothers Chiquet - Jean-Hervé (public relations) and Laurent (winemaking) - took helm in 1988. After realizing that maintaining a predetermined house style in their nonvintage blend was at odds with their actual preferred blend in some years, they ceased the nonvintage line in 2000. Instead, they adopted a numbered cuvée, starting from No. 728 in 2000, to be able "to create the best possible blend every year." "728" represents the 728th blend created since the house's founding. Today "the brothers make wines of rare depth and finesse." "One of the hallmarks of Jacquesson's champagne is that it's vinified in large oak casks, which the Chiquets say results in greater complexity and aroma. The generous, mouth-filling Jacquesson style is evident in the sequentially numbered 700-series, one of the finest nonvintage bruts in Champagne." "Beginning with Cuvée No. 733 Dégorgement Tardif, these have also been released in late-disgorged versions, which show the savory complexity imparted by longer lees aging." Vauzelle Terme parcel in Aÿ, planted in 1980, is the source of a single-vineyard vintage champagne of the same name, a wine "of great structure and refinement" with "authoritative, soil-driven complexity", "vivid and multidimensional", and "one of the top champagnes being made in Aÿ." Champ Caïn from Avize and Corne Bautray and Terres Rouges from Dizy are the other three single-vineyard vintage champagnes. Champ Caïn is "broad and ample" while Corne Bautray is "the finest pure Dizy": "planted in 1960, these chardonnay vines yield a wine of a singular and astounding character", "savory, stony and assertive." "The two best producers in Dizy are Gaston Chiquet and Jacquesson, and in fact, the families are related: proprietors Antoine and Nicolas Chiquet of Gaston Chiquet are cousins of Jacquesson's" brothers. Member of Trait-d-Union. TyS 9/10 "No champagne house today is on a trajectory of ascent as steep as Jacquesson." The brothers are fiercely selective in their fruit purchases, decreasing the external fruit from 40 hectares to just 8, and relying on their own 29 hectares of grapes for majority of the harvest, even as it meant lowering production by almost a third. Holding back and releasing a portion of their 700-series as DT means that their entry wine is offered at nine years of age, "unheard of for a champagne house" and a statement to the caliber of the line. No single parcels are kept as reserves. A trial blend is created for the 700-series each year from the single vineyards, and if the blend needs them, no single vineyard cuvées are made. "It is not often that we produce the four single vineyards, as we need them to uphold the integrity of the 700-series, and all the more so since it has to age confidently as a Dégorgement Tardif." Practically-minded, organic where possible, "scrupulous" viticulture is practiced in the "immaculately kept" vineyards. Similarly refreshing pragmatic approach to vinification: "if a barrel needs sulphur, we give it, but only very rarely do they need it" and "we favor malolactic fermentation as we don't want to use heavy sulphur dioxide additions or filtration." No. 737 ranks second only to the "sensational" 2008 base of No. 736. ToS 88.
PL 16 mentions! "One of the region's most respected houses," founded in 1798 and important during the nineteenth century, it was purchased by the Chiquet family in 1974. Brothers Chiquet - Jean-Hervé (public relations) and Laurent (winemaking) - took helm in 1988. After realizing that maintaining a predetermined house style in their nonvintage blend was at odds with their actual preferred blend in some years, they ceased the nonvintage line in 2000. Instead, they adopted a numbered cuvée, starting from No. 728 in 2000, to be able "to create the best possible blend every year." "728" represents the 728th blend created since the house's founding. Today "the brothers make wines of rare depth and finesse." "One of the hallmarks of Jacquesson's champagne is that it's vinified in large oak casks, which the Chiquets say results in greater complexity and aroma. The generous, mouth-filling Jacquesson style is evident in the sequentially numbered 700-series, one of the finest nonvintage bruts in Champagne." "Beginning with Cuvée No. 733 Dégorgement Tardif, these have also been released in late-disgorged versions, which show the savory complexity imparted by longer lees aging." Vauzelle Terme parcel in Aÿ, planted in 1980, is the source of a single-vineyard vintage champagne of the same name, a wine "of great structure and refinement" with "authoritative, soil-driven complexity", "vivid and multidimensional", and "one of the top champagnes being made in Aÿ." Champ Caïn from Avize and Corne Bautray and Terres Rouges from Dizy are the other three single-vineyard vintage champagnes. Champ Caïn is "broad and ample" while Corne Bautray is "the finest pure Dizy": "planted in 1960, these chardonnay vines yield a wine of a singular and astounding character", "savory, stony and assertive." "The two best producers in Dizy are Gaston Chiquet and Jacquesson, and in fact, the families are related: proprietors Antoine and Nicolas Chiquet of Gaston Chiquet are cousins of Jacquesson's" brothers. Member of Trait-d-Union. TyS 9/10 "No champagne house today is on a trajectory of ascent as steep as Jacquesson." The brothers are fiercely selective in their fruit purchases, decreasing the external fruit from 40 hectares to just 8, and relying on their own 29 hectares of grapes for majority of the harvest, even as it meant lowering production by almost a third. Holding back and releasing a portion of their 700-series as DT means that their entry wine is offered at nine years of age, "unheard of for a champagne house" and a statement to the caliber of the line. No single parcels are kept as reserves. A trial blend is created for the 700-series each year from the single vineyards, and if the blend needs them, no single vineyard cuvées are made. "It is not often that we produce the four single vineyards, as we need them to uphold the integrity of the 700-series, and all the more so since it has to age confidently as a Dégorgement Tardif." Practically-minded, organic where possible, "scrupulous" viticulture is practiced in the "immaculately kept" vineyards. Similarly refreshing pragmatic approach to vinification: "if a barrel needs sulphur, we give it, but only very rarely do they need it" and "we favor malolactic fermentation as we don't want to use heavy sulphur dioxide additions or filtration." No. 737 ranks second only to the "sensational" 2008 base of No. 736. ToS 88.
Tasting notes
All photos and tasting notes are by @gaiwanstyle
Producer profiles and wine details are from books by Peter Liem (PL), Tyson Stelzer (TyS), and Tom Stevenson (ToS)
Producer profiles and wine details are from books by Peter Liem (PL), Tyson Stelzer (TyS), and Tom Stevenson (ToS)