Friday Night Bubbles

NV Jacquesson Brut Cuvée 732, $42, Winebow. I just discovered in reading the Wine Doctor's profile that Jacquesson was purchased in 1974 by the Chiquet family. Gaston Chiquet, also in Dizy, makes great wines that are part of Terry Theise's lineup. So, when Jean-Hervé and Laurent Chiquet (Jacquesson) sit down to dinner with their brother, or cousin, or whatever Gaston is to them, how do they decide which wine they will drink? I wish I had such problems.

Cuvée 732 is Jacquesson's version of a NV Brut wine. It is unusual as a non-vintage wine in that it is more of a vintage-specific wine. 732 is based on the 2004 vintage (79% of the blend), and is meant to showcase its identity as a wine made from 2004's grapes. Next year's version of this wine, Cuvée 733, will be all about the 2005 grapes, and depending on the character of the wines made from those grapes, it could be a very different wine. Yes, that's right - unlike most NV Brut wines, particularly those made by the bigger houses, the character of this wine can change each year.

The wine went through many changes in the glass. Not an auspicious beginning, with a cider-y nose, somewhat simple with loads of apple on the palate, and a rather thin feeling to the wine altogether. I had high expectations for this wine, and so I was feeling rather disappointed.

I'd read great things about this wine - it was Peter Liem's Wine of the Week back in May. It was part of the Wine & Spirits blind Champagne tasting a few weeks ago, and I loved it there, it was absolutely one of my favorite non-vintage wines. So what was going on with my bottle?!?

Jacquesson's wines offer a bevy of great information on the back label, something that I hope becomes more common. My bottle was disgorged in the 2nd quarter of 2007. I put Peter's photograph through an accelerator mass spectrometer, and determined that the bottle he reviewed was disgorged in the 3rd quarter of 2007. The dosage is the same - 3.5 grams. Could a few more months on the lees make such a big difference? And what about the bottle we tasted blind in the Wine & Spirits office, when was it disgorged?

As the night progressed, the nose took on a more complex character, with hazelnuts, baked apples, and a bit of toast. A lovely nose in the end, but it took a while. The palate too - a very smooth texture with great acidity, and nice flavors of roast almonds and citrus. Stately and elegant. The finish was chalky and fragrant with green apples. I liked this wine very much, but it is definitely not the same wine I tasted at Wine & Spirits. In the interest of science, I recently purchased a bottle of 732 that was disgorged in the 4th quarter of 2007. We'll get to the bottom of this yet.