Jacquesson & Fils is a

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

producer based in the Dizy region of

. The house was founded in Châlons-sur-Marne in 1798 by Memmie Jacquesson. The house makes the claim it is the oldest independent Champagne house.

History

The fame of the house grew following the rumour that it was a favourite of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, who bestowed upon the house a gold medal for its fine cellars. The Champagne house Juglar was absorbed into Jacquesson in 1829.Lechmere, Adam, ''Decanter.com'' (November 17, 2010)
Champagne still 'fresh' after nearly two centuries in Baltic
/ref> By 1867 annual sales of Jacquesson bottles had reached 1,000,000, but a period of decline followed the death of Adolphe Jacquesson, inventor of the

muselet A ''muselet'' () is a wire cage that fits over the cork of a bottle of champagne, sparkling wine or beer to prevent the cork from emerging under the pressure of the carbonated contents. It derives its name from the French ''museler,'' to muzz ...

, when the descendants ceased to continue the family business, and ownership changed hands over several decades, until in 1974 when it was bought by Jean Chiquet.

Present day

Today it is directed with brothers Jean-Hervé and Laurent Chiquet. Methods have changed to be

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

, fermentation in

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

is increased, new vineyards are bought in, but production still is limited to around 350,000 bottles per year. '' Revue du Vin de France'' in ''Les Meilleurs Vin de France'' awarded the house three stars out of 3 in its 2010 edition.Les Meilleurs vins de France 2010, ed. '' Revue du Vin de France'', 2009 Jacquesson

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

s are located in the ''Grand Cru'' villages of

Aÿ Aÿ (; also Ay) is a former commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. On 1 January 2016 it was merged into the new commune Aÿ-Champagne. Champagne Aÿ is most famous as a centre of the production of Champagne. Aÿ's vineyards a ...

Avize Avize () is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. Champagne The village's vineyards are located in the Côte des Blancs subregion of Champagne, and are classified as Grand Cru (100%) in the Champagne vineyard classificati ...

and Oiry and in the ''Premier Cru'' villages of Dizy,

Hautvillers Hautvillers is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. The Abbey of St. Peter which existed here until the French Revolution was the home of the famous Dom Perignon, a Benedictine monk whose work in wine-making helped to deve ...

and

Mareuil-sur-Aÿ Mareuil-sur-Ay (, literally ''Mareuil on Ay'') is a former commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. Since January 2016, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ is part of the administrative commune Aÿ-Champagne. Its population was 1,113 in 2019. The ...

, with approximately 15% of the fruit sourced from growers in these villages as well as the ''Grand Cru'' village of

Chouilly Chouilly () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. Champagne The village's vineyards are located in the Côte des Blancs subregion of Champagne, and are classified as Grand Cru (100%) in the Champagne vineyard classifi ...

and the ''Premier Cru'' village

Cumières Cumières () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. Twin towns Cumières is twinned with: * Felino, Italy * Assesse, Belgium See also * Communes of the Marne department *Montagne de Reims Regional Natural Park Mon ...

. The main wine is a numbered cuvée, for example Cuvée 733, which is a blend of 2005 vintage with 30-40% older reserve wines. Other wines are vintages, the best known from Avize Grand Cru and single vineyard wines from Ay, Dizy and Avize. All wines are characterized by elegance and minerality, due to an extremely low dosage (usually ). On backlabel are indicated number of bottles produced, month of disgorging and dosage.

Föglö wreck

In July 2010, 168 bottles of

were found on the

Föglö wreck The Föglö wreck (also known as "The Champagne Schooner") is a shipwreck of a 19th-century two-masted schooner (21.5 m long × 6.5 m broad) lying in the waters off Föglö near Åland in Finland. It became famous in the summer of 2010 as several b ...

near

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...

in the Baltic Sea by Finnish diver Christian Ekström. Initial analyses indicated there were at least two types of bottles from two different houses:

Veuve Clicquot Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin () is a Champagne house founded in 1772 and based in Reims. It is one of the largest Champagne houses. Madame Clicquot is credited with major breakthroughs, creating the first known vintage champagne in 1810, and i ...

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

and the long-defunct Champagne house Juglar which was merged into Jacquesson in 1829.