2015 Jacques Lassaigne 'le Cotet - les Grain de Beauté' CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE. 750ml
Notes from Jenny & François Selections:
Jacques Lassaigne is a 4.7-hectare family vineyard located in Montgueux. The vineyards boast prime southeastern exposure and consist entirely of Chardonnay. The Montgueux vineyard sites were originally held for the Montrachet of Champagne and are located near the gates of Troyes—the former capital of Champagne. This area is technically part of the Aube department, but is much further north than what people typically think of as the Aube, in the Cote des bars which features wines often primarily made from Pinot Meunier. The terroir in Montgueux is nearly identical to the growing sites found further north in le Mesnil, as they share the same limestone vein —this is exceptional terroir for making great champagne. An intense backbone of acidity is often present in these wines, but since it is located further south than the storied Cotes des blancs, ripening is not as much of an issue. The non-vintage Blanc de Blancs is a blend of nine different vineyard sites & two successive vintages.
Emmanuel Lassaigne, Jacques’ son who now runs the vineyard, began working the vines in 1999, and made the bold decision to craft wines from individual parcels. At the time his local neighbors thought of him as a fool and didn’t understand the methods behind his madness. Emmanuel makes all the important decisions regarding the wine virtually alone, and experiments boldly in ways that baffle us with his courageousness, for when he decides to make a change, he isn’t able to fully realize the results of that change for another 3, 4, 5 or even 10 years.
The initial tank or barrel fermentations of all Emmanuel’s wine is carried out with only indigenous yeast. He introduces sulfur minimally at pressing to prevent oxidation, and then never adds any sulfur again. Emmanuel disgorges all the bottles by hand himself, a very uncommon practice in Champagne, where machine disgorgement is the norm. He developed this technique so that he wouldn’t have to top up the bottles after disgorgement.
Making of: The grapes are harvested by hand, destemmed, and gently pressed. The wine undergoes complete malolactic fermentation and is aged in barrels for 4 years until it’s bottled. Disgorged á la volée (manually) after 2-3 years in bottle (the current 2015 vintage was disgorged in February 2022) with zero dosage.
Personality: vibrant, chiseled, pure, textured, layered, surprising, chalky, mouthwatering, focused, saline, oomph, swoon, f* this is good.. a unique Champagne that will probably make you go through your entire wine vocabulary.
