2006 Andre Jacquart Champagne Blanc De Blancs Experience

2006 Andre Jacquart Champagne Blanc De Blancs Experience

2006 Andre Jacquart Champagne Blanc De Blancs Experience

Blanc de Blancs is white Champagne made exclusively from white grapes, and usually Chardonnay. Those made only from one or more red wine grapes – usually Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier – are called Blanc de Noirs. The two terms translate as “White from Whites” and “White from Blacks”.

The Côte des Blancs is the centre for Blanc de Blanc production within the Champagne region. “The Hill of Whites”, to the south of Epernay, is an east or southeast facing slope around 15 kilometers (9 miles) in length. Its chalky soil is more suited to white grape growing production than the more clay-based soils elsewhere. (© All rights reserved, Wine-Searcher.) 96 percent of vineyards here are planted with Chardonnay.

Blanc de Blanc Champagnes tend to taste different to the most familiar non vintage cuvées. Those usually include considerable proportions of black-skinned Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. That said, it is hard to identify any stylistic characters which are common to all Blanc de Blancs bottlings.

This is true when one tastes those few wines made from less common white grape varieties (see below). Chardonnay does tend to taste more citrussy than wines with red grape components. They tend to be (or appear to be) crisper and drier and more likely to be considered as an aperitif or partner to seafood. Still, there is also considerable variation between wines made only from Chardonnay.

Even within the Côte de Blancs, terroir variations seem to play a strong role. For example, A. Jacquart’s Le Mesnil cuvées emphasize acid structure, elegance and minerality. But their Premier Cru Vertus, from the southern end of the Côte de Blancs, is much rounder and more peach-laden.

Le Mesnil sur Oger is a Grand Cru rated commune within the Côte de Blancs. (In Champagne it is villages which gain Premier or Grand Cru status, not individual plots). Salon’s Le Mesnil and Krug’s Clos de Mesnil are made entirely from Chardonnay grapes sourced from here. Other Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru villages are Cramant, Avize and Oger.

The Côte de Sezanne zone lies a little to the south of the Côtes de Blancs. It is also southeast facing and has a similar focus on Chardonnay. But the heavier soils tend to produce wines with a little less finesse.