Champagne Cuvée 741 Jacquesson Review And Tasting Notes
Champagne Cuvée 741 Jacquesson is a great wine, not just a Champagne like many others. The beauty of this centuries-old Maison is the personality of the wines, which always comes before style. Every time you taste a Jacquesson, you taste the terroir: the dosage is remarkably low, there are no filtrations, the fermentation takes place in wood and the wine is free to “express its character.”
They do not want to create a recognizable crystallized style, always the same, but to enhance every single cru and they have many, among the best, Premier and Grand Cru in the Marne Valley and further south in the Cotes de Blancs.
The number 741 is the cuvée. We do not say the vintage because it is not vintage, but they want to emphasize the continuity of the discontinuities of the alternation of the vintages. And this seemingly heretical choice makes them deserving of great respect.
But let’s get back to our wine. This Champagne Cuvée 741 Jacquesson is a symphony played by an unleashed Chardonnay, a phenomenal orchestra master that manages to impart juiciness, creaminess and a touch of candied fruit while not giving up a single drop of freshness. It is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. All played on a delicate game of minerality and warm, mature tones, but with little Pinot Noir, a dark touch is felt in the background, but it is tamed.
The wine is splendid and made as god commands, by hand, although the winery produces hundreds of thousands of bottles. When the grapes are ripe, harvest, soft pressing, and fermentation in wood. There are no clarifications or filtrations: the wine rests on the yeasts and then goes into the bottle for the second fermentation. Degorgement and mild dosage so that it does not distort the wine.
You can drink it now if you want a rocky and citrusy wine, but already evolved, but if you wait another 4-6 years, it will develop a whole series of buttery, creamy and evolved notes that deserve the wait.
The bouquet
Warm nose outlined by lots of ripe fruit, custard, chalk, fern, sugared almonds and candied citrus returns. The yeasts have worked very well, adding elegant arabesques of bread and brioche, but the surprising thing is the fullness, the scent of stones and hazelnuts that mix in an almost salty background. Floral finish with remarkable persistence.
The taste
It is coherent, broad and sumptuous, on the palate, but savory. Carved in the chalk of the Cotes de Blancs, the vineyards have a southern exposure and there are no sour notes, but only a lot of pulp and salt that alternate creating an enveloping symphony.
It is not nervous but fresh and pulpy, inviting to drink with a soft and honeyed touch.
The acidity is always sharp, ready to split any hint of softness in two. Already balanced, soft, harmonious, but all in all, still young, it has just begun its evolutionary path.
A wine of silk and rock for all those who want to discover the flavor of Chardonnay.
Price of Champagne Cuvée 741 Jacquesson
75-80 euros: a fair price that reflects the outstanding quality of the wine.
Cuvée 741 Jacquesson Food Pairings
Fish, roasted white meats, pasta with pesto, seafood, chowder, chicken Cacciatore, Vitello Tonnato, truffle risotto, pasta alla carbonara.