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, ...

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 wh ...

, 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, 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 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. Vineyard ...

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

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

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, 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. 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 near

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and 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 1,580 km2, and a populat ...

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 b ...

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

History

Present day

Föglö wreck

See also