NV Jacquesson Cuvée No. 738

Jacquesson

France / Champagne / Jacquesson

2010 - the harvest upon which this non-vintage Cuvée is based - was a rather difficult year: winter and spring were cold and dry, early summer was relatively fine but the end of the season was cool and wet. After sorting, the grapes presented themselves in good condition. They produced fine, elegant, fresh wines, especially the Chardonnays. The final blend was 61% Chardonnay, 18% Pinot Noir and 21% Pinot Meunier with reserve wines 33% of the total.

October, 2015

Tyson Stelzer

The Champagne Guide 2015-2016

94 points

As ever, it’s coiled and tense on release, will benefit from a few more years to flesh out, and will blossom magnificently over the coming decade. Chardonnay takes the lead in impressive focus of crunchy lemon and grapefruit, opening into crunchy red apple and the subtle spice of barrel fermentation. More recent tastings have shown generous suggestions of golden fruit cake and fruit mince pies. Skilfully managed barrel work spins a beautifully woven texture without oxidation or oak character, building a fine, creamy mouthfeel that amplifies salty minerality. A well-crafted and characterful wine of driving structure, charged with excellent acid line, finishing even, dry and long.

March, 2015

Peter Liem

ChampagneGuide.net

Based on the 2010 harvest, with 33 percent of reserve wines, this blend contains an unusually high percentage of chardonnay (61 percent), with 21 percent meunier and just 18 percent pinot noir. It contrasts a rich body and ample depth of flavour with a racy spine of acidity, its tense structure accentuated by its low dosage of 2.5 g/l. Chardonnay is clearly apparent in both flavour and texture, imparting a lovely sense of finesse, and the balance on the palate is terrific — sometimes I feel that the Chiquets dose their wines too low, but this one is really spot-on. While it’s showing well now, it’s still very youthful in character, so don’t be afraid to leave this in the cellar for a while.

October, 2015

Ben Thomas

The Weekly Review

94 points

Jacquesson Cuvee No. 738 Two thirds of this are from the 2010 vintage, with the remainder made up from Jacquesson’s reserve wines. Matured in casks before bottling and its second fermentation, this is a 61/21/18 blend of chardonnay, pinot meunier and pinot noir. There’s a smoky note to the complex lemon, apple, biscuit and hazelnut aromas. It’s intense and layered with a saline drive to its apple and citrus flavours. Immaculately structured, its dry, refreshing acid sits perfectly on the tongue, playing second fiddle to the delicious flavours.

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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."