Jean Vesselle Brut Réserve à Bouzy Champagne 75 cl.

Brut Réserve from Jean Vesselle is made with 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay. The wine primarily comes from a younger vintage, blended with 10% older wines that the company stores in its cellars. The wine is bottle-fermented for 2-3 years and is dosed with 10-11 g sugar per liter (a classic Brut Champagne is dosed with between 5 and 15 g sugar per liter).

Brut Réserve is a powerful champagne with very open, fruity aromas on the nose. On the palate, one senses Vesselle’s classic, delicate, and subtle character, which, despite the wine’s strength, leaves an impression of fruitiness, softness, and finesse, along with a very charming honey-like finish. It is a classic Champagne for receptions, or during a meal with fish or seafood dishes, or with a fruit dessert.

Compared to the several million bottles that the large champagne houses produce annually, Jean Vesselle’s annual production of around 100,000 bottles is rather modest. As is often said, less can be more, and among champagne connoisseurs, the family-run Jean Vesselle is considered one of the most skilled “Récoltants-manipulants,” a producer who vinifies their own grapes instead of selling them to a larger company.

Located in the town of Bouzy, which is particularly known for its high-quality Pinot Noir, Jean Vesselle was known up until the early 20th century for producing excellent red wines from Pinot Noir, while the other grapes, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, were sold to larger producers.

Like many other producers in Champagne, Vesselle experienced that all vineyards that weren’t destroyed by the Phylloxera vine louse in the late 1800s were instead wiped out by the fighting during World War I. All the vineyards were rebuilt in 1921, but the economic situation made it impossible to sell the grapes, so Jean Vesselle’s grandfather started making champagne himself. Jean Vesselle’s father continued the champagne production but sold about 30-60% of the grapes, and it was only when Jean took over the company that the decision was made to use the entire grape production, a practice that continues to this day.

Since Jean Vesselle’s death in the mid-1990s, his daughter Delphine and her husband David have taken the helm. With great skill, they have developed Champagne Jean Vesselle, and their champagnes enjoy a solid reputation in wide circles while also offering great value for money. The company’s current 15 hectares of vineyards are exclusively planted with Pinot Noir (90%) and Chardonnay.