The champagne house looks to make its mark with the debut of its Mosaïque range and two vintages
Timing is crucial to the champagne business, more so now that Champagne Jacquart is set to re-enter the Singapore in 2019 through the exclusive distributor, Taste of Tradition, after pulling out of the market 20 years ago. As managing director Adrien Combet explained at the pre-launch event at Gunther’s last December, they wanted to make sure that they get it right this time.
This involved a long and laborious process of developing their unique style, and Combet was quick to point out that “being a young champagne house, we have a lot of freedom to express what we want”.
Having a talented and experienced cellar master in Floriane Eznack (previously from The LVMH Group), who came on board in 2011, also helped. Not only did she streamline its Mosaïque range and added two vintages, introduced the practice of ageing champagnes longer—three to four years for the normal range and five for the vintages—for better taste.
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The Brut Mosaïque NV is their main cuvee, which we found well-balanced and easy to drink; it’s something you’d imagine yourself enjoying with friends on a terrace in Paris on a pleasant day. Area manager Thibault Darodes De Tailly attributed its qualities, in particular, the evident freshness, to the use of 40 per cent chardonnay grapes, while the pinot noir and pinot meunier give it structure and fruitiness.
In contrast, Darodes De Tailly described the Rosé Mosaïque NV, also from the Mosaïque range, as a “basket of fruits”—more specifically wild strawberries, bush peach and kumquat that revealed themselves on the first sip.
“We know how to do a great blanc de blanc,” shares Combet, and their 2012 vintage gave an accurate picture of the year, with substantial ageing potential. Despite the challenging conditions—from winter and spring frosts to heavy rains during flowering months—they were able to harvest enough quality grapes (even in small clusters), whose fresh and citrusy notes have been preserved in a bottle.
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