NV Jacquesson Champagne Extra Brut Cuvee 748

Country/Region: France, Champagne 

• Style: White, Dry, Sparkling, 12% abv

• Blend: 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay & 20% Pinot Meunier

Chardonnay-based blend 55% from Aÿ, Dizy, Hautvillers, and Champillon, 45% from Avize and Oiry. Base vintage 2020, 24% of reserve wines. Dosage 2 g/L, disgorged October 2024. Precise and structured with a focus on freshness and minerality. Aromatic profile with notes of fresh pear, citrus zest, and lightly toasted hints. On the palate: white fruits, citrus, and a hint of brioche. The finish is elegant and saline.

About: Champagne Jacquesson was founded in 1798 by Memmie Jacquesson and he did so well that Napoléon gave him a medal. The business left family hands toward the end of the 1800s, and eventually was bought by the Chiquet family in 1974. Today Jacquesson is jointly managed by Jean-Hervé and Laurent Chiquet. Jean-Hervé, once the cellar master, now primarily runs the commercial aspects of the business, while his younger brother Laurent runs the production side and has taken the role of chef de cave. In a given year, Champagne Jacquesson farms between 69 and 76 acres in the grand cru villages of Aÿ, Avize, and Oiry, and in the premier cru villages of Hautvillers, Dizy, and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. The acres vary because the house owns 69 acres with the option to take farming contracts on as many as 7 more, and Jacquesson does all the farming on whatever it contracts for. 

Sustainable practices are the norm here, and one-third of Jacquesson’s vineyards are certified organic. The brothers use vertical presses rather than more abusive horizontal presses. The juice flows by gravity into steel tanks for 24 hours of settling, after which it is transferred to large neutral wood casks (foudres) for several months to undergo alcoholic and malolactic fermentations. The dosage is typically in the extra-brut range of one to six grams of sugar per liter. 

 Jean-Hervé and Laurent had decided that the 7-series would be Jacquesson’s best blended wine. Going forward, the vintage wines would be limited to the four single-vineyard wines, made only in good years and in very limited numbers, while the house’s one blend would be the 7-series. The requirements for the vintage-dated single vineyards are simple: the wine must have a distinct personality, one that reflects its terroir, and it is not needed in the 7-series blend.