Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée n°728

Jacquesson was founded in 1798 by Memmie Jacquesson and today stakes a claim as the oldest independent Champagne house. Early vintages were very successful and the house quickly established a good reputation, and the wines are said to have found favour even with Napoleon. Like any good general Napoleon never campaigned with a case or two of good Champagne!

 

Memmie died in 1835 and was succeeded by his son, Adolphe Jacquesson. Adolphe was a a driving force not only for the family business but for the Champagne region as a whole. He pioneered important changes in both the vineyard and winery, including the planting of vines in rows as laid out by Dr Jules Guyot, and with the help of Jean-Baptiste François, the accurate measurement of sugar concentration before the secondary fermentation. This latter innovation made a significant reduction in the number of bottle lost due to excessive dosage and frenetic fermentation in the bottle, and is known as the Reduction François. In addition, Adolphe Jacquesson was partly responsible for the development of the muselet, the wire cage that holds the cork in place on bottles of Champagne and sparkling wine the world over. Rather sadly considering the impact Adolphe had on Champagne, his descendents had little interest in continuing the family business. The business changed hands several times during the decades that followed, until in 1974 it was purchased by the Chiquet family. Jacquesson is now run by brothers Jean-Hervé and Laurent Chiquet, who oversee the vineyards and day-to-day running of the winery; in addition there is a third partner, Michael Mackenzie, who is based in London.

The Jacquesson vineyards are in the Grand Cru villages of Aÿ, Avize and Oiry and in the Premier Cru villages of Hautvillers, Dizy and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. These sites account for the majority of the fruit used by the house, but about 15% is sourced from other growers located in these villages as well as the Grand Cru village of Choilly and the Premier Cru village of Cumières. The vines are pruned hard to less than ten shoots to reduce yields and they may be further debudded in May, followed by a July green harvest if required. They are trained to either the Cordon de Royat or Chablis systems to maximise bunch exposure, thereby minimising rot and vineyard treatments that would then ensue. Between the vine rows the land is planted to grass and may be ploughed to reduce surface root formation and to encourage the vines to dig deep. The harvested grapes see a vertical press prior to fermentation in either oak casks or stainless steel. Some of the wines are fermented in small demi-muids of about 6 hl capacity which allows fermentation of small aliquots of wine representing small vineyard sites. Those wines fermented in oak also see malolactic and some batonnage. The wines are not filtered prior to bottling.

The wines include a new non-vintage cuvée, which replaces the Perfection Brut, starting with Cuvée No 728. Since the foundation of the house in 1798 its cellar records show that each wine which passed through the cellars has been given an individual number, starting with No 1. This system is still in use, and the latest NV blend is designated 728. This is a blend of approximately one third each Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. This first release was based on the 2000 vintage, the aim being to produce the finest wine possible, taking account of vintage conditions, rather than aiming for consistency across the vintages. Based on the 2001 vintage, Cuvée No 729 will follow. In addition there is a Brut Rosé NV Champagne, an Avize Grand Cru wine made from Avize fruit, and the Grand Vin Signature. In truth all would qualify for the designation Extra Brut - the house style here is very dry, but also one of very high quality and complexity, testament to the excellent sources of fruit and careful handling in the cellar practised at Jacquesson.

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