About the House
Champagne Jacquart was created in 1964 by a group of about 30 vignerons who came together with the vision that by pooling their resources and their shared passion of terroir, they could achieve something greater than its individual parts.
Extremely passionate and dedicated to creating wines to reflect this vision, their brand has grown to now involve 1800 partner growers and cultivate 2400 hectares of vines.
Their signature range, Mosaic, is so named to reflect this idea of many vineyards coming together. If you were to look at the landscape of Champagne from the air, you would see a mosaic of plots of vines covering the land below. This provides an extraordinary palette from which the growers can draw.
From the 2400 hectares owned by their partners, 350 hectares made up of 60 different crus are carefully selected to make champagnes under the Jacquart label.
The mosaic blend is elegant, refined, and fresh, expressing the importance of chardonnay in the blend. Their chardonnay is sourced only from Grand Cru and Premier Cru villages of the Cote des Blancs, Grande Montagne de Reims and the Vallee de la Marne.
Their headquarters are based in the beautiful Hotel de Brimont, in Reims.
About the Chef de Cave
A group of four oenologists are lead by Chef de Cave Floriane Eznack, a talented young woman who took over the role at only 30 years of age.
The child of diplomates, Floriane had an interesting childhood attending International Schools where she became fluent in English – perfect for her dual role as the House’s International Communications Manager. Just like the Jacquart brand, she is young and dynamic and is passionate about chardonnay.
About Blanc de Blanc 2012
I was thrilled to have the opportunity to taste and review the latest vintage release from Jacquart. It had been sent to me by post, so I decided to wait an agonising two weeks for the bubbles to settle a bit before I popped the cork.
Being a vintage champagne, it means that the grapes used must all come from the same year’s harvest. This means that the weather and what Mother Nature throws at the region in any given year plays a very important role in the overall quality of the fruit. Too hot, and the grapes ripen too much and there is too much residual sugar and alcohol in the juice. Too cold, and the grapes don’t ripen enough, leaving the resulting juice very acidic. Too much rain and the thins are too thin and the juice not so concentrated. Not enough rain, the skins thicken and it is harder to press and get a good yield. Frost at the wrong time of spring when there is already bud burst on the vines means the overall yield can be dramatically affected. Perfect growing conditions will lead to a well ripened grapes with a good balance of acidity and sugar/alcohol, perfect for producing great champagnes.
2012 was an interesting year. There were frosts in winter and spring, a lot of rain during the flowering period, and a cool period that extended into July, normally the warmer time when the grapes start to ripen. This all led to smaller clusters which are not ideal. However, hot sunny days, with lovely breezes and cool nights in August saved the vintage. The resulting fruit was superb and despite the small clusters the juice had a beautiful balance and indicated great ageing potential.
The blend in the 2012 Jacquart Blanc de Blanc was made of six Grand Cru and Premier Cru sites: Three from the Cote des Blancs (Avize, Le Mesnil Sur Oger, and Vertus); one from the Montagne de Reims (Villers-Marmery); and two from the Vallee de la Marne (Ay, Hautvillers).
After bottling, it was aged 5 years in the cellar.
Fast forward to 2019 and a hot sticky early autumn afternoon in my South East Queensland home.
The Review
A clear pale lemon colour with a fine persistant bead.
The nose was clean and I was primarily hit with the overwhelming yet delicate freshness of ripe lemons and citrus. Fresh violets, rhubarb and citrus zest also came through. As it warmed up a bit and opened, green apples also appeared. Tertiary aromas of baked shortcrust pastry started to excite my tastebuds before the first sip.
The palate was clean, crisp and floral, with dominant lemon and citrus flavours. The sharp minerality was balanced by a pleasant creaminess, reminiscent of a lemon meringue tart.
The finish was long, creamy and soft.
Although it was delightful to drink now, there is still ageing potential and it could easily be kept for another ten years.
Perfect at the end of a long hot day as an aperitif, or would pair well anytime with a meal of scallops, langoustines, or salmon sashimi with a yuzu dipping sauce.
Watch the live tasting
Click on the link below if you would like to see me pop the cork on the Jacquart Blanc de Blancs 2012 for the first time and hear my initial thoughts.
Where to buy
If you are interested in purchasing a bottle to try for yourself, it is available in Australia online at the following wine stores:
*The bottle of Jacquart opened for this tasting was provided free of charge by Single Vineyard Sellars. Views and opinions are my own.
