Jacquesson Visit Note 07072022

Walking down the memory lane, with the help of notes and pictures, the feeling of excitement and gratitude warms me up at this winter night.

Heading There (T-2)

I got lucky that Monsieur Jean-Hervé Chiquet offered to host us in July, a month that seems the entire world is visiting France.

To prepare for the visit, we rehearsed the transportation the day before:

• Rent two bikes from a van behind Reims train station 
• the rental owner operates via whatsapp, he does not speak or write much english, but he is nice and thoughtful, providing phone holder to make navigation easier
• Most importantly, he had helmets for us as well
• Carried bikes up and down the stairs to get onto train to Aÿ
• it was a SPORT to carry those bikes and running like crazy persons in the underground tunnel to catch our train
• Got off at Aÿ
• Rode bike from Aÿ to Dizy
• The only way is highway (yes, highway is the only way, my way is not an option, lol)
• Cars were chill, they followed us patiently on a one lane highway
• It was a bit hilly, especially the part closer to Dizy
• 15min ride, so it was managable
• Found the gate - bingo!
• The gate to Jacquesson is almost there once we entered Dizy
• I was too fast and missed it, luckily wife saw it and called me back 
• On the way back, a boulangerie right next to the highway, with bright pink theme color caught our eyes. 
• fast forward, two days later, we had our breakfast there, it was amazing, and baguette like the bakery said: 30% heavier than the normal ones, we were stuffed

Regarding why we chose biking instead of driving, it was because wife forgot her driver's license and I could not go get the car the day before the visit, hence we chose the old school way. To be safe, we rehearsed before hands. It was perfect since I do not want to spend a fortune on automatic cars, neither do I know how to drive stick anyways.

Heading There (T0)

The rehearsal was a great idea (thanks wife). We smoothly got our bikes onto the train (we finally learned how to fit the bikes into the elevator, so it was a breeze to travel with the clunky bikes)

It was cold and cloudy and a bit windy that day, it felt even colder since we had nothing since getting up. So the boulangerie (La Pétrie) acted like a gas station for us. 

Quick Note on Jacquesson

• 1798, house founded by Memmie Jacquesson in Châlons-sur-Marne
• Memmie's son Adolphe helped transformed the primitive champagne making
• he taught Johann Joseph Krug the art of blending
• he encouraged the pharmacist Jean-Baptiste François to formulate 'reduction Francois' which lowered the bottle explosion instance from 25% to 4%
• he patented muselet that secures champagne cork in place
• 1920, bought by a wine broker who moved the house to Reims
• 1974, Chiquet family purchased and moved it to Dizy
• 1988, Chiquet brothers (Jean-Hervé Chiquet and Laurent Chiquet) took over
• at the time, 15 hectares owned, 30 hectares under contract, annual production 450k bottles
• 2000, cuveé 728 released, which marked the attempt to showcase excellence over consistency
• 728 is the 728th cuveé blended by the house since foundation
• each year will be featured as the base vintage in the blend
• 2002, Champ Gain got bottled individually for the first time
• The vineyard is on the lower deeper part of Avize 
• 2005, starting from cuveé 733, disgorgement tardif (DT) version has been released for each 700 series
• Now, 29 ha owned (18 ha are good terroir), 8 ha under contract, 250k bottles produced annually, no longer source from verzenay

Wine Growing 

• For chardonnay, 5 buds for each vine
• For pinot noir, single Cordon training
• vines distressed, control yield
• Less foliage, better ventilation, less chance of botrytis

(pic above: Le Clos)

 Pressing

• 3 vertical presses in Dizy, 1 vertical press in Avize
• The press in the pic is more than 70 years old, Coquard is the manufacturer
• Each time press can handle 4000KGs, only juice from the first 3 presses will be kept, which equals to 2050L (2550L is allowed by law, 2050L first press + 500L second press)
• To prevent oxidation in juice collection, dry ice is being used (2g/hectoliter)

Stilling

• In tank, 24H in cellar temperature

Fermentation

• Big barrel fermentation - does not block malolactic fermentation
• Till the end of the year, no racking
• 1 batonnage every 2wk
• creamy
• more structure
• significant antioxidative effect
• less tartar (avoid the shock of cold stabilization which is used to remove tartaric acid)
• Smaller barrels for reserve wine or experiments
• End of April 
• rack
• take tartar
• put wine back -> no filter needed 

Tasting