2004 Jacquesson Aÿ Vauzelle Terme

Jacquesson

France / Champagne / Jacquesson

The Vauzelle Terme lieu-dit is situated half way down the slope, facing south on limestone and millstone grit gravel resting on blocks of Campanian chalk. The site comprises 2,500 vines of Pinot Noir planted on 0.3 Ha in 1980. The vines are permanent cordon pruned, with cover-cropping between rows and no fertiliser used.

November, 2013

Peter Liem

ChampagneGuide.net

From the first two editions of Vauzelle Terme (1996 and 2002), it's clear that this vineyard is a special site. As with the 2002, this wine shows an extra dimension and complexity of flavor compared to either the Champ Caïn or Corne Bautray, along with an exceptional refinement and finesse. Its pure, succulent flavors of raspberry and marionberry are accented by hints of bacon, graphite and exotic spice, buttressed by a haunting minerality and persisting on the finish with outstanding length and detail. Where the 2002 was deep and mouthfilling, the 2004 is high-toned and expansive, reflecting the character of the vintage, but it's no less complete, nor is it any less expressive. Like the 2004 Champ Caïn, this is dosed at 1.5 g/l, which seems to suit the wine perfectly.

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About Jacquesson

Jacquesson has an impressive history. It was founded in 1798 in Châlons by Memmie Jacquesson, son of a wine trader. The house rapidly rose to fame, aided by the fact that Napoleon was a fan. However, everything that we today value about Jacquesson began in 1974 when Côte des Blancs winegrower Jean Chiquet acquired the brand and vineyards and moved the domicile of the house to Dizy. His sons Jean-Hervé and Laurent Chiquet are the present custodians of the Jacquesson trading house, which manages to cover almost 90% of its grape requirement from its own vineyards. These are located in the Grands Crus Aÿ, Avize and Oiry, and in the Premiers Crus Hautvillers, Dizy and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. Additional grapes are only bought from growers who follow exactly the same methods as the Chiquets. The fruit is pressed by Jacquesson itself in its four presses, three of which are located in Dizy and one in Avize.


About

Laurent and Jean-Hervé Chiquet see themselves primarily as winegrowers who cultivate the land and do everything with the aim of obtaining the best possible grapes. And from there, the brothers have been ready to break with convention in order to deliver the best possible wine every time - hence the decision to introduce the 7-series non-vintage wines instead of the traditional house NV. In his 2018 article entitled Champagne’s Top Five Movers & Shakers, Tyson Stelzer summed up the approach pretty well: "It’s been 40 years since Jean-Hervé and Laurent Chiquet’s family purchased Jacquesson, 30 years since the brothers took control, 20 years since they turned champagne’s non-vintage concept on it head with their controversial ‘700 series’ cuvée, and ten years since they pulled their most cunning stunt of all by slashing production to ramp up quality. And ramp up it has."