It pains me to say this, as I cherish Jacquesson for all kinds of personal reasons going way back, but, over the last seven or eight years, I have found their wines to be consistently overpriced and frequently under-dosaged.
I would agree that the direction of Jacquesson since the release of the 7xx series and the later releases of the 95 vintage wines has not been one that I personally enjoy. Overall, I think the dedication to quality is high and the Chiquet brothers have a vision that they are executing on with perfection. I just don’t happen to be a fan of most of the work, but it appears most are as they have climbed the ladder of prestige in the eyes of many, been able to raise prices, and have more demand than ever. Good for them especially as the Chiquet brothers are extremely nice and very deserving of success.
The latest 739 (based on 2011) is very good and while I am not the biggest fan of the 7xx series (and found the old Perfection NV to be more my style), I have found that the 7xx wines seem to perform best for me in the lesser base vintages. The better the base vintage, the less I often seem to like the wine. In what would be considered very good base vintages, the wine often comes across as overly dry and lacking fruit, but in lesser base vintages, the fruit shows and some roundness comes out. For example I do not like the 736 (2008) or 737 (2009), but enjoy the 738 (2010) and 739 (2011). The lesser vintages that have less acidity and structure along with some heaviness seem to do well with Jacquesson’s style of lean and a bit mean mineral/acidity and low dosage focus.
I have always loved the Terres Rouges Rose and I guess that means I should be surprised that apparently it is being discontinued as Jacquesson has never been all that happy with the results of the wine even as they tried different ways of making it. In general, they don’t seem to be a fan of the Roses they have made over the last decade. I love 'em, they don’t; it is a unique wine, but full of fruit and more red wine than almost anything else in Champagne that has bubbles. It will be interesting to see if Jacquesson tries a Rose again.
For most of the other wines, I think the dosage is too low and the wines come across as austere. I also don’t think most of the wines work well as single parcels with most of the plots being better in a blend than solo. The Ay Vauzelle Terme is interesting, but the others don’t really speak to me much. I think the Avize Champ Cain lacks the overall expression of the blended Avize BdB. Dizy Corne Bautray also doesn’t do a lot for me in terms of expression and the same goes for the other limited/experimental parcel or village wines they have tried. To me, the pinnacle of what Jacquesson did is shown in the older Signature vintages where everything was blended. Sometimes the the sum is much greater than the parts.
Also, as mentioned the price points are quite high from the entry level NV on up through the single parcel wines; I find most to be poor value. But, as I said earlier, the wines are selling and they have rabid fans so good for them. That is why it is great to have a wide variety of Champagne styles.
Damn. I love the Terres Rouges. It’s disappointing to hear it’s being discontinued.
Is the 2008 the last release? Or is there more to come before the end?
Regardless, I’ll have to stock up. Wish I could find this in magnum somewhere.
Andrew,
I’m not sure if the 08 is the last release or not or what the future will be with Jacquesson and Rose. I only know that the brothers weren’t a big fan of the wine. There may be more vintages aging in the cellars, but I didn’t ask.
I’ve never seen a magnum of the Terres Rouges Rose. I think the only public release of the wine in Magnum was 2008 and it would be cool to own a few of them. No clue who might have them.
W-S shows a few 2008 mags in the UK…
I think it’s the end here. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure that’s what I was told by Mr. Chiquet.
Brad,
My understanding here is that the fruit from the single-vineyard cuvees were minor influences on the vintage wine, and that the discontinuation of the vintage wine in 02 was more meant to have a major impact on the 7-- series. Basically, a lot of top fruit moved down the ladder and the NV price moved up, and a few special terroirs got their own limited bottlings. I don’t disagree that the wines can be stern (737), but with the right food or mood, people love them (738).
(Commercial disclaimer - I maintain a Champagne bar - and we stock Jacquesson wines)
(And this may be a winery where Brad and I simply don’t currently line up - which happens on occasion! 
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Jim,
I’m sure we will continue to disagree on Jacquesson and I have no problem on that. Variety is the spice of life… and I do like the 738 especially with food. For the single vineyard wines, my point wasn’t so much that they impacted any other blended wine so much as they don’t really stand well on their own. I felt this fruit was better left in a blend than left as a soloist. Just my opinion.
Brad,
I hope we don’t continue to disagree because I hope the Chiquets will find a way to please us both!
I liked tasting the various individual wines - trying them with someone from Jacquesson was illuminating about a variety of Champagne terroirs. Whether they are at their best isolated? Not sure. Fun to have them that way. This could be chalked up to what you know vs. what I need to experience.
We opened it along a line of nine wines (five champagnes) for thanksgiving. I was pleasantly surprised with its quality already at this time (I was planning to let it ‘sleep’ at least until 2018, but there was a request to open one for testing). It was enjoyable. More notes below.
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2008 Jacquesson & Fils Champagne Dizy Terres Rouges Rosé (11/24/2016)
I agree with others that the first ‘eye capturing’ is that it is a dark rose. More berries (Abit sweeter) on the nose and palate. Medium plus finish. There is a raspberries/strawberries freshness on the initial taste, as others have noted. imho, it balances and allows the secondary tastes to develop within about 30-60 minutes. Long stable bubbles. Nice minerals on the palate. I noticed that the vote of the bottle in a 9 wines line was pretty clear. It was the first rose (and first wine) to be finished. Can also accommodate a full meal (if it holds until the main dish is served). Great companion to few cabs as well
Bottom line: If you have few, its worth opening one already and getting the initial taste. Otherwise, let it age another year or so for more enjoyment. (93 pts.)
Closing note/disclosure: I purchased it in Europe (for a better price than the typical one in the US/north america market). Especially in the EU price ranges, it was an excellent deal. Brad has a good point about the typical prices of Jacquesson in the North American market. I saw that Brad gave somewhat lower score to the '08 compared with other vintages of the Terres Rouges Rosé. I am curious about the reasons (or more specifically, it must be settled through a vertical ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
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Erez,
You are correct that I found the 2008 to be very good, but slightly less enjoyable on release when compared to the the 2003 and 2004, but I did note and sill do think it has the the potential to be the best Terres Rouge released. The 03 and 04 were predominately Pinot Meunier and I think showed better younger when compared to the now pure Pinot Noir version that started with the 2007 and seems to show more potential for improvement with age.
Also, for those interested, there is also a 2009 which is now supposed to be the last vintage of this, but you never know. The 2009 is also very good. Just a touch behind the 2008 and 2003 and right up there with the 2004.
While many of the Jacquesson wines are crazy in price and dryness for my liking, this wine is a real treat and I will miss it greatly.
Thanks for the input
If you drop by from Detroit, send me a PM. We can open few bubbly bottles to check.