Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée No. 748

Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée No. 748.

A precise, vinous, and terroir-driven Champagne that highlights the 2020 vintage with crystalline clarity and depth.

Among the great names of Champagne, Jacquesson has long been admired for its singular approach: producing numbered cuvées that evolve each year to capture the essence of the harvest. With Cuvée No. 748, the house continues its philosophy of transparency and authenticity, presenting a Champagne where vineyard expression, structure, and finesse are allowed to shine without artifice.

This is Champagne at once refined and characterful—serious, gastronomic, and deeply engaging.

About the Winery

Jacquesson Champagne, founded in 1798, has been unique from the very beginning. The founder’s son was a clever inventor who created, among other things, the muselet that still secures champagne corks today. Napoleon Bonaparte himself was known to detour for Jacquesson on his way to battle.

Over the centuries, the house has changed ownership several times, but its essence remains the same: Champagne with quality, originality, and a distinctive voice. Today, the brothers Jean-Hervé and Laurent Chiquet lead the domaine from their base in Dizy, cultivating vineyards in the Côte des Blancs and the Vallée de la Marne with utmost respect for nature.

The Chiquets deliberately chose a different path than most houses by avoiding a uniform “house style” and instead creating numbered cuvées that reflect vintage conditions and vineyard character. This bold approach has brought Jacquesson to the forefront of terroir-first Champagne.

In 2022, the house entered a new chapter under the ownership of François Pinault, whose Artémis Domaines also includes icons such as Château Latour, Clos de Tart, and Eisele Vineyard. With this backing, Jacquesson is poised to continue its trajectory of producing Champagnes of remarkable finesse, freshness, and purity.

About the Wine

Cuvée No. 748 is based on the 2020 harvest, a year marked by a sunny spring, thunderstorms in June, and a very dry summer. The blend combines 55% fruit from Aÿ, Dizy, Hautvillers, and Champillon, and 45% from Avize and Oiry, enriched with 24% reserve wines drawn from cuvées 747 to 743 and 741.

Fermentation and aging take place in large oak vats, with no fining or filtration, staying true to Jacquesson’s minimally interventionist ethos. Disgorged in August 2024, it is finished with a minimal dosage of 2 g/L (Extra Brut). Production amounted to 170,320 bottles, 8,850 magnums, and 400 jeroboams—underscoring its artisanal, carefully curated scale.

On the nose, the 748 unfolds with citrus zest, white peach, and green apple, layered with brioche, hazelnut, and a chalky minerality. With aeration, notes of quince, chamomile, and light spice add further nuance. The palate is taut, vinous, and focused, balancing ripe orchard fruit with laser-sharp acidity. The mousse is extremely fine and airy, enhancing both freshness and elegance. Saline undertones and hints of wood and herbs weave into a finish that is long, complex, and mineral-driven.

Already expressive, Cuvée 748 will develop gracefully over the next 5–8 years, gaining further depth and harmony. For collectors, a late disgorgement “Dégorgement Tardif” release of this cuvée is planned, extending its potential even further.

Conclusion

Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée No. 748 is a brilliant continuation of the house’s numbered series—an articulate, terroir-first Champagne that captures the 2020 vintage with purity and depth. Vinous, mineral, and uncompromising in style, it is equally suited as a chic aperitif or paired with shellfish, poultry, or aged sheep’s milk cheese.

We award this wine a 94-point DWA score—a benchmark example of precision-driven Champagne that stands among the finest expressions of its kind.

This review is written by our own Niels Aarts. Champagne Jacquesson is imported and distributed in the Netherlands by Résidence Wijnen and available at the retail stores of De Gouden Ton, amongst others.