In a wine region as far north as Champagne viticulture can sometimes prove a delicate matter, as inclement weather conditions can complicate the ripening process. By contrast, when the weather is good, the vineyard manager is rewarded by wines of incomparable quality. It is this very accentuated vintage character that sets northerly viticulture apart.

Only in an exceptional year does Jacquesson create an assemblage of some of its best casks from Grand Cru vines, to which we sometimes add the best parcels of Dizy, all classified as Premier Cru, but clearly without any addition of reverse wines. The resulting wine aims to give full expression to the unique, outstanding character of the vintage.

The climatic conditions were marked by a rapid succession of highly contrasting weather patterns.

Severe winter frosts, reaching close to -20°C in February, were followed by a grey, colts month of March, record high temperatures and sunshine hours in April, frosts and hailstorms in May, giving way to excellent weather in early June to start the flowering which finished alter a brutal cold snap that ran from the 19th onwards. The months of July and August witnessed repeated bouts of fine weather, thunderstorms and hot and humid weather, all propitious to the development of botrytis, mildew and other diseases. Fortunately a persistent wind came to rescue the meticulous efforts of our vineyard team by preventing this humidity from lingering, thereby allowing the grapes to grow under good conditions. The same north wind dried the grapes during the mid-September rains with the result that the sugar content of the berries increased in a spectacular manner. Picking starter on 21st September under clear skies. Such an atypical year could only produce atypical musts: the balance between alcohol and acidity was without precedent, combining 11 degrees of potential alcohol with an acid reading of 10 gr/l.

Starting at the end of November, our first tastings of the vins clairs vinified in casks already showed a high standard of quality throughout the different regions, with the power of the vintage being particularly dazzling in the Pinots Noirs. The wines were racked promptly in order to retain the fine lees and to allow three months of weekly lees stirring. Thereafter we took advantage of the last colds of winter to clarify the wines naturally. The tastings that followed confirmed our first impressions: full-bodied, well-rounded wines of great richness, supported by a significant acidity in the finish that presaged an unusual aging potential. At the end of May we decided to keep some of our best Pinot Noir parcels from Ay and Dizy (26%) as well as a selection of Pinots Noirs from Grands Crus on the Montagne de Reims (31%) and some Chardonnays from the Côte des Blancs (43%) for the assemblage.

On 4th July 1997 bottling took place without any prior filtration to produce 25,911 bottles anti 1,090 magnums of Jacquesson 1996. Jacquesson 1996 Rosé, bottled on the same day alter a light filtration, was created in the same vein. Some of our Pinots Noirs from Dizy, chosen for their optimum ripeness, were destemmed and crushed before undergoing a cuvaison of eight days. The resulting red wine had an élevage of nine months in demi-muids, before being added to the assemblage to the tune of 9%. 9,800 bottles and 400 magnums of Jacquesson 1996 Rosé were produced.