The Champagne Society – February 2018 Selection: Champagne Jacquesson

Champagne Jacquesson “Cuvée 740” (Extra Brut)

Price for The Champagne Society members: $67 (regular price $79)

We take pride in the diversity of the wines that we offer to The Champagne Society, so it is a matter of no small consequence that we decided to revisit ChampagneJacquesson’s 700 series with the latest release.

Although technically a Champagne house, brothers Laurent and Jean-Hervé Chiquet operate Champagne Jacquesson much like a grower operation. Besides their own organic and sustainably farmed 69 acres of vineyard (severely pruned for low yields), they work closely with their neighbors to supplement from an additional 19 acres, all in Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards. What sets them apart is their goal of producing a wine that expresses the greatness of their vineyard parcels rather than merely maintain a “house style”. Indeed, the 700 series of Jacquesson wines are created to showcase the character of the base vintage and the addition of reserve wines is designed to reinforce the complexity of the base wine. Purely on the refinement of its current cuvées, Jacquesson can easily be ranked among Champagne‘s top six producers.

According to the Chiquet’s, “Cuvée 740” is quite possibly the finest of the 700 series yet to be produced. The primary portion of the blend is from the 2012 Vintage with fruit harvested in the Grands Crus of Aÿ & Avize, and the Premiers Crus of Dizy, Hautvillers and Oiry. The Cuvée is completed with several reserve wines from previous 700 Cuvées to make up only about 20% of the blend.

A long and frigid winter coupled with a spring and early summer that were exceedingly wet, the 2012 vintage started out quite challenging. Fortunately, a superb end to the growing season produced a small crop of remarkable quality for this esteemed house. The result is a Champagne with a tremendous amount of energy and sap. Aromatics of lemon verbena, crisp green apple, and a baguette just out of the oven overlay a palate that is simultaneously bracing and full with an interminable mineral finish. “Cuvée 740” is a Champagne with a rock solid core that will provide a great few glasses of wine from now until the mid-21st Century.

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Posted on 2018.02.01 in France, The Champagne Society, Champagne