Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée 745 Extra Brut, Dizy, Champagne, France

Founded in 1798 and still pushing boundaries today, Jacquesson is one of the oldest and yet most innovative houses in Champagne. It is owned and run by brothers Jean-Hervé and Laurent Chiquet, who in the early 2000s pioneered the idea of a numbered non-vintage cuvée, freeing themselves from the constraint of consistency, and permitting instead the pursuit of excellence above all else. Around eighty percent of the house’s needs are supplied by its own vineyards, and the whole approach is much closer to that of the conscientious grower than the large négociant, accounting for wines of spectacular vinosity, complexity and finesse.

The grapes come from chalk-rich vineyards in Aÿ, a Grand Cru, and Dizy and Hautvillers both Premiers Crus in the Marne (55%) as well as from two Grand Crus in the Côte des Blancs, Avize and Oiry(45%). Traditional growing techniques are employed with little or no soil enrichment whilst most treatments are organic. Harvest was carried out by hand between the 19th of September and the 6th of October.

Cuveé No. 745 is based on the 2017 vintage. Made from grapes mainly harvested from Ay, Dizy and Hautvillers, Avize and Oiry. The fruit of their labour was a crop of healthy, mature grapes with particular mention for the Pinot Noirs which were super successful. 30% reserve wines from the previous 700 Cuvées complete the blend and it spent 4 years on its lees.

Following a gentle pressing in a traditional vertical basket press, the juice was left to settle naturally. Fermentation was carried out in old oak casks with weekly bâtonnage. After a lengthy fermentation, the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered to undergo secondary fermentation before being disgorged with a dosage of 0.75g/l

With only less than a gram of sugar, this Champagne hits with its refreshing dryness, which makes it practically a Brut Nature although not labelled as such.