Jean Vesselle Demi-Sec Rosé Cuvée Friandise á Bouzy Champagne 75 cl.

Champagne Demi-Sec Rosé “Cuvée Friandise” is made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes harvested from approximately 30-year-old vines in Bouzy. Immediately after picking, the red grapes are crushed, and the skins remain in contact with the must for 36 to 48 hours. Afterward, the pink must is allowed to drain on its own without pressing into fermentation tanks (Rosé de saignée – or bleeding wine, as it’s called in French), where it ferments without the skins. The wine is dosed with 32 g of sugar per liter during disgorgement (a classic Brut Champagne is dosed with between 5 and 15 g of sugar per liter).

Demi-Sec Rosé “Cuvée Friandise” has a beautiful pink color, persistent mousse, and its immediate sweetness makes it very charming as an aperitif (the name “Friandise” means candy in Danish!). It also has good freshness and bite, which makes it very suitable for most desserts – for example, fruit tarts. It even pairs well with chocolate desserts…

Compared to the several million bottles produced annually by the big champagne houses, Jean Vesselle’s annual production of about 100,000 bottles is modest. As is well known, small can be very good, and among champagne connoisseurs, the family business Jean Vesselle is considered one of the most skilled “Récoltants-manipulants,” a producer who vinifies the grapes he grows, rather than selling them to larger companies.

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

Like many other producers in Champagne, Vesselle experienced the destruction of all vineyards not wiped out by the Phylloxera louse in the late 1800s, which were instead devastated by World War I. All the vineyards were replanted in 1921, but the economic situation made it impossible to sell the grapes, so Jean Vesselle’s grandfather began making champagne himself. Jean’s father continued the champagne production but sold about 30-60% of the grapes, and only when Jean took over was it decided to use the entire grape production, which has been done ever since.

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 together developed Champagne Jean Vesselle, and their champagnes enjoy great renown and are simultaneously “value for money.” The current 15 ha vineyards are exclusively planted with Pinot Noir (90%) and Chardonnay.