Jacquesson Dizy Corne Bautray 2009

Jacquesson & Fils is a Champagne producer based in the Dizy region of Champagne. The house was founded in 1798 and the fame of the house grew following the rumour that it was a favourite of Napoleon. Today company is run by two brothers - Jean-Hervé and Laurent Chiquet. Methods have now been changed to organic, fermentation in oak has been increased, new vineyards have been bought, but production still is limited to 350.000 bottles a year. Jacquesson vineyards are located in the Grand Cru villages Aÿ, Avize and Oiry and in the Premier Cru villages. The main wine is a numbered cuvée. The numbered wines are blended with the curent vintage as the main part of the blend and just with 30-40% older reserve wines. Other wines are vintages, single vineyards. All wines are characterized by elegance and minerality due to an extremely low dosage (usually 2-5 grams sugar per liter). An interesting fact - Adolphe Jacquesson the first owner of the house is the inventor of the muselet, the metal wire that holds the cork!

Fresh chardonnay shows bright fruity profile and strong body. Chardonnay wines usually have expressed aromatic complexity and usually it happens due to winemaking techniques (particularly the use of oak promote notes of vanilla, smoke and hints of spices) rather than the variety's intrinsic qualities. Also, this variety can develop cream, yeast and brioche bread notes. Because of this high level of winemaker influence, Chardonnay has become famous as the "winemaker's wine".

The Champagne region combines specific climate, soil and topography conditions that form a unique terroir which is currently used by approx. 15 000 vine-growers and 300 wine houses. The region consists of 4 sub-regions - Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs, Vallée de la Marne and Côte des Bar. Each provides customers with a different style of sparkling wine. The dominant grapes are Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier that are mainly used in Montagne de Reims and Vallée de la Marne, while Chardonnay shows excellent results in Côte des Blancs. The region is even more appealing because of the so called "Growe's Champagne" wines, the production of which is overseen by one family from start to finish - they grow and press grapes, make wine and bottle it in the territory of one wine house. This gives the wine a true charm, aura and unique flavour.