Champagne Jacquesson was founded in 1798 by Memmie Jacquesson, in the midst of France’s revolutionary war. Right out the gate, these wines were so good that Napoleon gave him a medal… seriously. In 1835, his son, Adolphe took charge and implemented some monumentally important innovations that would forever change the world of wine. Along with Dr. Guyot, they implemented the radical notion of training vines in orderly rows (Guyot pruning is still one of the most dominant methods used to this day). To reduce Champagne bottles' tendency to explode, he worked with a chemist to begin accurately measuring sugar levels in alcohol, to great effect. And lastly, he invented the muselet, more commonly known as a Champagne cage, helping to secure the corks of nearly every sparkling wine in the world ever since. Beyond all that, their wines are some of the most revered sparkling wines in the world today – just as they have been for decades.

The business left family hands toward the end of the 1800s, and eventually was bought by the Chiquet family in 1974. Today, Jacquesson is jointly managed by Jean-Hervé and Laurent Chiquet – with Jean-Hervé, once the cellar master, running the business and his younger brother Laurent serving as the chef de cave. While Jacquesson does purchase fruit (20 acres from long-standing contracted growers), the majority of their fruit (roughly 80% of their production) is grown themselves – with a focus on the grand cru villages of Aÿ, Avize, and Oiry, and in the premier cru villages of Hautvillers, Dizy, and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. This wine hails from their estate-owned and biodynamically farmed plot of Champ Cain in Avize. Here, some 12,000 chardonnay vines are planted on clay, sandy-loam soils atop immense blocks of Campanian chalk at the bottom of the hill facing due south. The Jacquesson house has developed a reputation for the lowest yields anywhere in Champagne, opting for concentration and quality over quantity – leading to a production of less than 900 cases (including magnums) for this spectacular Champagne.

Certainly, a wine of this stature, pedigree, and timelessness fetches a hefty price tag – the most expensive we’ve ever featured on Last Bubbles. And yet, this is truly a jewel to be treasured, and one you can’t find anywhere else in the U.S.! The 2004 vintage of this same wine currently fetches nearly $130 more per bottle than our extraordinary price today. For those that can, this is a worthy investment – and one sure to pay off in sheer pleasure and wonderment – all for the bubbly experience of a lifetime!