Jacquesson
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 reputably 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. After finally persuading their father it was their time to shine, Jean Chiquet’s sons, Jean-Hervé and Laurent Chiquet, literally turned the notion of Champagne on its head with the introduction of their 700 series and the launch of Cuvee 728 hailing from the 2000 vintage, which set out to promote the virtues of a given vintage, rather than seek to blend it away to produce something consistent, rather than something exciting. The 700 series saw each new harvest/vintage be reflected on the label, with the majority of the blend coming from the most recent harvest whilst being supplemented with reserve wines of previous 700 series wines that have been ageing slowly in foudre in the dark and cool cellars underneath their small but beautiful property in Dizy.
Jacquesson sit comfortable between a grower and a small house, owning the majority of the vineyards they use to produce their engaging wines whilst supplementing their own grapes with long- term leases and contracts with vineyards owned by close friends and family members’ found primarily in the Vallée de la Marne and the Côtes des Blancs. The philosophy of the estate has always been on quality over quantity which has seen annual volumes bottled at the estate reduce year-on-year at a time when the majority of estates in the region have gone the other way, and today the quality of wine going to bottle has never been higher.
About Laurent and Jean-Hervé Chiquet
In 2022 the current custodians of the estate, Jean-Hervé and Laurent, felt it was time to pass the baton to the next generation and with neither having any children they took the decision to seek new owners. Having turned down numerous significantly higher bids, they finally found the suitor they had been looking for in Artémis Domaines, who are already the current custodians of famed estates such as Château Latour, Bouchard Père et Fils, Clos de Tart and Château-Grillet.
Although the Chiquet brothers are no longer steering the ship day-to-day, Jean-Hervé remains on the board and is heavily involved with the new custodians ensuring his knowledge & passion are shared. The vineyards owned by the Chiquet brothers and their family remain a vital spine of the wines that the estate will produce going into the future. Cellarmaster Yann le Gall remains at the helm in the cellar, having already overseen the élevage of the wines for some 13 harvests, and the vineyards continue to be overseen by long-term vineyard manager Mathilde Prier. So, although much has changed at the estate, much remains the same and the future of Champagne Jacquesson is in safe hands. Forever pushing forward, the focus will remain on fine-tuning to ensure that the wines of Jacquesson remain some of the most thought-provoking and detailed wines coming out of the region for generations to come.