Jacques Lassaigne

The History of Champagne Jacques Lassaigne

The estate’s history is intertwined with Montgueux’s revival. Devastated by phylloxera in the late 19th century, the hill was abandoned for nearly eighty years before a few growers began planting there again in the 1960s. Jacques Lassaigne was one of these pioneers: he planted Le Cotet, the estate’s first plot, on the easternmost slope. For decades, Montgueux grapes were prized chiefly as components in the blends of major houses, without the village’s name ever appearing on a label.

Everything changed in 1999, when Jacques’s son Emmanuel, known to everyone as Manu, took over the family property. Convinced that this terroir deserved recognition in its own right, he abandoned chemicals, relied exclusively on old vines, vinified each plot separately and gradually dispensed with the crutches of conventional Champagne winemaking. In about twenty years, he put Montgueux on the global map of grower champagne and became one of the region’s most admired figures. His guiding principle is simple: capture and preserve the aromas of the terroir, nothing more.

The Terroirs and Vines of Champagne Jacques Lassaigne

Montgueux is a remarkable geological anomaly. Although administratively part of the Aube, the hill lies some distance from the Côte des Bar, whose Kimmeridgian marl soils are largely devoted to Pinot Noir. Here, a seam of chalk reaches the surface, closely resembling the chalk found in the Côte des Blancs and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, which explains the site’s natural affinity for Chardonnay. The slope enjoys a favorable southeastern exposure and a microclimate that allows high levels of ripeness while preserving lively acidity.

The estate farms just four to five hectares, supplemented by rigorously selected grapes purchased from the same hill. Its plots are numerous and fragmented. Chardonnay dominates, with a few rows of Pinot Noir reserved for rosé cuvées and Blancs de Noirs. Notable named sites include Le Cotet, planted by Jacques Lassaigne in the 1960s, whose vines are now more than fifty years old; Clos Sainte-Sophie, planted between 1968 and 1973 in the center of the vineyard on a historic 19th-century grafting and horticultural research site; and Les Chères Vignes, old vines on chalk farmed under a long-term lease. Soil work is minimal and done by hand beneath the vines. Grass is allowed to grow, then rolled down to form a protective mulch, and many of the vines are braided rather than trimmed.

Winemaking at Champagne Jacques Lassaigne

Grapes are harvested by hand at full ripeness, plot by plot. They are destemmed and gently pressed. Sulfur is added only at the press, never afterward to the blends. Each lot is kept separate, allowing for finely judged blends or single-plot bottlings. Malolactic fermentation is always allowed to finish, bringing stability and a creamy texture without ever weighing down the wine.

Aging combines stainless steel tanks and both new and used barrels, for twelve to twenty-four months depending on the cuvée. The classic blends are aged mostly in tanks, with a small portion aged in wood to develop texture, while two micro-cuvées, La Colline Inspirée and Clos Sainte-Sophie, are aged entirely in barrels. Secondary fermentation uses deliberately less sugar, producing fine, subtle bubbles. The wines are neither fined nor filtered, disgorging is done by hand, and most cuvées are released with no dosage, as Extra Brut or Brut Nature. Bottle aging ranges from one to five years before release, sometimes longer for cuvées intended for cellaring.

The Cuvées of Champagne Jacques Lassaigne

Les Vignes de Montgueux, Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs: the estate’s signature cuvée and its finest introduction. It blends seven to nine distinct plots and three successive vintages to produce a remarkably precise 100% Chardonnay. The nose combines green apple, white peach, fresh bread and pastry cream against a chalky backdrop. The palate is taut and refined, with vibrant acidity and flavors of citrus and orchard fruit leading to a long mineral finish. Ideal as an aperitif or with oysters and seafood; also available in magnum.

Le Cotet, Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs: the house’s flagship single-plot cuvée, from the first named site planted by Jacques Lassaigne in the 1960s, at the eastern edge of the Montgueux vineyard. The vines, more than fifty years old, root deep into the chalky slope. Made using a bottle-based solera approach, with a substantial proportion of reserve wines, the cuvée combines chalky freshness with remarkable autolytic development. Sharp mineral notes, rich salinity and a lemony finish. An ideal partner for shellfish and crustaceans.

La Colline Inspirée, Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs: a micro-cuvée aged entirely in barrels, blending four different vintages vinified separately. Emmanuel Lassaigne likes to point out that, in Champagne, blending is usually used to reproduce the same wine year after year, whereas here he uses it as a creative tool. Fleshy and supple on the attack, it moves toward citrus and acidity on the palate before a distinctly mineral finish. A rare, highly sought-after cuvée.

Clos Sainte-Sophie, Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature: a vintage single-plot cuvée from an enclosed vineyard in the heart of Montgueux, planted between 1968 and 1973 on a historic grafting site. Only vines over forty years old are harvested. Aged entirely in barrels with no dosage, this unique cuvée offers a strikingly deep and precise expression of the hill’s chalky terroir.

Clos Sainte-Sophie Rosé: a rosé expression of the clos, made from Pinot Noir grown on the same plot. Produced in extremely limited quantities, it combines the grape’s delicate fruit with the saline character of Montgueux chalk, in a vinous, food-friendly style far removed from conventional aperitif rosés.

Millésime, Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs: made only in years deemed worthy, this cuvée captures the character of a single harvest without the influence of reserve wines. Montgueux Chardonnay reveals its sun-ripened character and bracing acidity, with considerable aging potential. A bottle for the table and the cellar.

Les Papilles Insolites, Extra Brut Blanc de Noirs: a distinctive cuvée in the range, made from 75 to 100% Pinot Noir and released only in magnums, in tiny quantities. It reveals another side of Montgueux, fleshier and spicier, while retaining the chalky tension that is the estate’s hallmark. A collector’s bottle for lovers of rare champagnes.

Rosé de Montgueux: the estate’s rosé, made from Pinot Noir grown on the hill with the same minimal-intervention approach as the white wines. With no dosage, it charms with fresh red berries, a silky texture and a saline finish. A grower’s rosé to serve with a meal rather than simply as an aperitif.

Soprano, Alto and Ténor: a series of cuvées distinguished not by plot or vintage but by their approach to aging, an exceptionally rare practice in Champagne. Each bottle offers a stylistic variation on the same raw material, from the most ethereal to the deepest expression, making it possible to understand how the vessel and length of aging influence the wine.

Limited-release cuvées and Coteaux Champenois: Emmanuel Lassaigne regularly produces experimental micro-cuvées of just a few hundred bottles, sometimes aged in unusual vessels such as barrels previously used for Jura vin jaune. He also makes a notable Coteaux Champenois, a rare, little-known still wine released only in favorable vintages that shows the potential of Montgueux Chardonnay without the bubbles.