Jacquesson

History of Champagne Jacquesson

The history of Jacquesson is an epic novel, woven from triumphs, innovations and rebirths, making it one of the oldest independent Champagne houses. It all began in 1798 in Châlons-sur-Marne, when Claude Jacquesson and his son Memmie laid the foundations of the family business. From the very outset, the house caused a sensation: in 1810, Napoleon I awarded it a gold medal for the exceptional quality of its cellars carved into the hill of Mont Saint-Michel, propelling Jacquesson wines to the rank of imperial favourites. These Champagnes were quickly exported abroad, marking a meteoric rise under the leadership of Memmie, who in 1804 joined forces with his cousin François-Félix Juglar to boost production.

The 19th century proved to be turbulent. In 1832, Adolphe Jacquesson, Memmie's son, joined the business and injected a dose of revolutionary ingenuity. A brilliant inventor, he filed a patent in 1844 for the muselet — the wire cage with metal plate that replaced rotting hemp string, preventing leaks and flying corks. Adolphe did not stop there: he designed a bottle-rinsing machine and reflectors to illuminate the cellars, innovations that modernised production and brought the house to one million bottles annually by 1867. A notable anecdote: in 1834, Johann-Joseph Krug joined Jacquesson as director before founding his own house in 1843, with the support of the Jacquessons, thus linking the destinies of these two icons of Champagne.

But success has its setbacks. Financial difficulties and a succession crisis, compounded by the accidental deaths of Adolphe's sons, led to a guardianship in 1873 under three notables, including Eugène Juglar. The house then passed through several hands: in 1925, Léon de Tassigny acquired it, adding 11 hectares in Avize and Oiry. It was in 1974 that Jean Chiquet, winegrower and broker, bought Jacquesson from the de Tassigny family, marking the beginning of a revitalising family era. His sons, Jean-Hervé and Laurent, took the reins in 1988, imposing a traditionalist and demanding vision. They drastically reduced yields, from 450,000 to 250,000 bottles, to focus on single-parcel cuvées, predominantly organic, and a vinous style in which effervescence is merely an additional asset. Their philosophy? "To reveal the most sincere expression of terroir, to make the finest wine that the year can bear." In December 2022, a new chapter opened with the acquisition by Artémis Domaines, the wine-holding company of the Pinault family, led by Frédéric Engerer. Jean Garandeau, formerly of Krug, took over as director, while the Chiquet brothers retained a seat on the board. This transition preserves creative independence, enabling Jacquesson to shine as an icon of terroir wines, acclaimed by critics and sommeliers the world over.

Terroirs and Vines of Champagne Jacquesson

Terroir lies at the heart of Jacquesson's identity: an exceptional vineyard spanning 28 to 30 hectares, spread across two emblematic regions of Champagne, offering a diversity that magnifies the wines. In the Grande Vallée de la Marne, the house owns a Grand Cru in Aÿ and two Premiers Crus in Dizy and Hautvillers, on steep, chalky slopes oriented east, south and south-west. These soils, rich in Campanian chalk, under a cool semi-continental climate (average temperature of 10°C at the 49th parallel), confer deep minerality and controlled vigour to the grapes. Further south, in the Côte des Blancs — paradise of chardonnay — two Grands Crus in Avize and Oiry dominate, with full south-facing plots on soils where chalk reaches the surface, favouring optimal ripeness and natural acidity.

To this are added complements from Premiers Crus such as Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, and targeted purchases (20% of production) from neighbouring growers in Chouilly (Grand Cru) and Cumières (Premier Cru), ensuring full traceability and direct delivery to the press house. The grape varieties? A harmonious balance: approximately 50% chardonnay for elegance, 30% pinot noir for structure, and the remainder in pinot meunier for indulgence. The vines, with an average age of 30 years, are tended using traditionalist methods: short pruning, mechanical ploughing or inter-row grassing to limit vigour and reveal the mineral influence on the fruit. Treatments are predominantly organic, without herbicides, with rigorous shoot-thinning and an uncompromising sorting to retain only healthy, ripe grapes. Manual harvesting at optimal maturity — the absolute priority of the Chiquet brothers — these practices transform the vineyard into a resilient ecosystem capable of overcoming climatic hazards. To purchase a wine from this terroir is to treat oneself to the pure expression of Champagne: ancestral soils that imbue every cuvée with a unique identity, combining power and finesse for champagnes of exceptional longevity.

Vinifications of Champagne Jacquesson

Vinification at Jacquesson is a goldsmith's art, where every step honours the terroir and the year, yielding wines of remarkable purity. It all begins with manual harvesting, followed by ancestral vertical pressing: gentle and controlled, it limits the crushing of the grapes, extracting clear juices free from bitterness or excessive tannins from immature stalks and pips. Only the first press juices — the cuvées — are retained, with the tailles (first 20 litres) and second juices set aside or sold on, guaranteeing irreproachable quality. No chaptalization: the musts, settled by gravity without cold stabilisation, preserve their natural integrity.

Oak plays a pivotal role. The juices ferment in old large casks (500 litres) or demi-muids, materials that subtly oxygenate the wines without imparting aromas, promoting a harmonious breathing process. Fermentations last 3 to 4 months, on fine lees regularly stirred, without filtration or fining, in order to preserve complexity. The ageing is long and minimalist: until the following bottling for the assemblages, with a second fermentation in bottle and a lees ageing that develops the creamy texture. The dosage, chosen blind between 0 and 5 g/l, culminates in extra-brut (averaging 1.5 to 3.5 g/l), underlining the purity and maturity of the grapes. This plot-by-plot approach — each parcel wine vinified separately — and the use of wood for gentle oxidation confer upon Jacquesson champagnes a rare vinosity, an eternal freshness and an ageing potential of 10 to 20 years. For late disgorgements, the process is extended, amplifying tertiary aromas without compromising youthfulness.

The Cuvées of Champagne Jacquesson

Jacquesson's cuvées are numbered jewels, where innovation rhymes with terroir: no fixed Brut Sans Année, but living expressions of the vintage, for wines that evolve from year to year.

The 700 series, the heart of production (96% of volumes), revolutionises the non-vintage style: an assemblage of a base year (80%) and reserve wines (20%), drawn exclusively from Grands and Premiers Crus, first-press juices. Vinified in large oak casks without filtration, aged for 4 years on lees, and disgorged between 3.5 and 4.5 years after harvest, it offers a changing, elegant, mineral, vinous profile, with an extra-brut dosage. The first, 728 (base 2000), set the foundations.

Its D.T. (Late Disgorgement) version, aged 8–9 years on lees, is exposed to oxidative shock for complex maturity: the 733 D.T. (base 2005, disgorged 2013) unfolds notes of ripe fruit, brioche and saline minerality — a treasure for connoisseurs.

The Lieux-Dits cuvées, produced in very small quantities (4% of volume) and only in great vintages (2002, 2004, 2005, 2007–2009, 2015), celebrate the singularity of individual plots. Dizy Corne Bautray (1 ha chardonnay, planted 1960): a precise, floral and iodine-tinged Blanc de Blancs, on chalky soils, aged 7–8 years. Avize Champ Caïn (1.3 ha chardonnay, 1962): mineral power and lemony tension, from an emblematic Grand Cru. Aÿ Vauzelle Terme (0.75 ha pinot noir, 1980): muscular, with dark fruit and spice, a structured Blanc de Noirs from the south-facing slope. Dizy Terres Rouges (1.33 ha pinot noir, 1993): an intense saignée rosé, indulgent and tannic, since 2007 100% pinot noir. These single-vineyard wines, dosed extra-brut or zéro, offer an incomparable expression of terroir. 

Under the aegis of Artémis and the undiminished passion of the Chiquet teams, Jacquesson continues to write its legacy, inviting enthusiasts to discover bubbles in which terroir sings and wine dances. Take advantage now of the best prices to acquire these effervescent treasures! Discover the other estates from the Champagne appellation such as Agrapart, Egly Ouriet, Larmandier Bernier, Agrapart, Laherte, Dehours, Ruppert Leroy, Françoise Bedel, R. Pouillon, Eric Rodez, Chartogne Taillet, Selosse, Jacques Lassaigne, Leclerc Briant, Bollinger, Roederer, Charles Heidsieck at Vins & Millésimes, offering you the finest bottles and magnums of wines and great growths to purchase online. All our wines are in stock and available for fast delivery! Discover the Jacquesson bottles and Magnums available for purchase!