The Champagne Society October 2019 Selection: Champagne Jacquesson

Champagne Jacquesson “Cuvée No. 736 Dégorgement Tardif” (Extra Brut)
Price for The Champagne Society members: $100 (regular price $150)

Long-time subscribers to The Champagne Society will no doubt be familiar with Champagne Jacquesson’s 700-series created to showcase the character of a particular vintage with the addition of a small amount of reserve wines designed to reinforce the complexity of the base wine. The 700-series is proving to be consistently one of the best non-vintage Champagnes available.

To show you our appreciation, the latest selection for The Champagne Society is a very special bottle of Jacquesson’s 736 Dégorgement Tardif (Late Disgorged) that we are giving to you at just about our cost. While we won’t have any further bottles of 736 Dégorgement Tardif to sell at this price, we will offer the newest 700-series release, Cuvée No. 742, with the normal Champagne Society discount at $75 (regular price $89).

The base wine for 736 is from the epic 2008 vintage, with about 34% of the blend made with reserves from 2007 and 2006. It’s composed of 53% Chardonnay, 29% Pinot Noir, and 18% Pinot Meunier. The Dégorgement Tardif cuvée is from a handful of 736 that was held back and allowed to age on its lees for a total of almost eight years before disgorgement in November of 2016. This is the type of winemaking focus that you might see in the top wine, or Tête de Cuvée, from the most renowned Champagne producers. Indeed, this wine will rival or outperform some of the most expensive Champagne in the market.

The pedigree of the 2008 base vintage resounds in the wine’s depth and complexity. Dried flowers, garden herbs, orchard fruit, a wisp of smoke…we could go on and on with all of the components that make up the intoxicating aromatic character of 736 Dégorgement Tardif. On the palate the wine is wonderfully balanced between the natural vibrancy of the 2008 vintage and the elegance that has developed with extended time on the lees. Pop this bottle for your Thanksgiving feast or store it in your cellar for whenever the occasion calls.

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.” Purely on the refinement of its current cuvées, Jacquesson can easily be ranked among Champagne‘s top six producers.

- - -
Posted on 2019.10.01 in France, The Champagne Society, Champagne