Champagne Jacquesson Champ Caïn Grand Cru Avize 2013

Jacquesson stands out as a producer amongst its peers in Champagne not for its centuries-long history of making Champagne but for its drastic re-invention in the late 1990s from traditional Champagne practices to terroir and vintage-specific methods. Brothers Laurent and Jean-Hervé Chiquet shocked the Champagne world when they discontinued the 150-year-old non-vintage label and released a numbered, vintage-based blend. For ages, the big Champagne houses used perpetual reserve wines and other techniques to create "house" styles that maintained the same taste year after year, regardless of weather conditions. Laurent & Jean-Hervé changed the course of Jacquesson by re-focusing the winemaking to craft the best possible wine from their plots, showcasing the impeccable terroir and adapting to the year's circumstances.

In addition to their vintage-based blend, the brothers introduced terroir-based blends like the Champ Caïn, from a single Grand Cru Avize vineyard. Avize is one of the six Grand Cru villages of the Côte des Blancs region, lying on the namesake 12-mile-long chalk ridge. The Jacquesson Champ Caïn is 100% Chardonnay from 1.3 hectares of vines planted in 1962 on chalk-rich soils, woven with limestone, clay, and sand in the topsoil. Chardonnay relishes the bedrock chalk as it perfectly balances water retention and drainage while reflecting the sunlight from its bright surface to the grape clusters, aiding in ripening.

"It reveals a dense, complex bouquet with aromas of peach, pear, spring flowers, almonds, pastry and citron oil combined with a fresh, minty character. Medium to full-bodied and perfectly balanced, this 2013 has a tauter and more fine-boned texture than usual, which is enhanced by bubbles of striking finesse and delicacy. It requires patience (three to five years) to realize all its potential." ~Robert Parker Wine Advocate