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| Delphine and David Lemaire . Vesselle. |
Bouzy is in the heart of Pinot Noir country and the family's 15 hectares of vineyard holdings consist mainly of two parcels in Bouzy planted to roughly 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay. They also own vineyards in the outlying areas of Bouzy and the "villages of Loches sur Ource near Riceys, which is well known for its Rosé." The house makes several beautiful rosé wines, all in the "true" method of Saignée or by allowing the skins to macerate with the juice. According to Delphine, while the practice is frowned on in much of the rest of France, it is much more common in Champagne to achieve a rosé wine by blending (close to 80% of rosé.) Consider that in "the other Cote" (the Cotes de Blanc) most of a growers holdings will be planted to Chardonnay, and the custom especially for the large Negociants, is to purchase still red wine from Bouzy and other villages in the Montagne de Reims to make their Rosé wine. A grower producer may purchase just 5 % of their grapes. The "risk" of the Saignée method, aside from being labor intensive, is that you will draw tannins from the skins and unwanted bitterness. The Jean Vesselle Saignée Brut spends an average of 24 to 48 hours in contact with the skins, depending on the vintage and character of the fruit. They then collect the free run juice. After a gentle pressing, the free run and press juices are carefully blended to get just the right blend of power, color and pinot character while maintaining delicacy, elegance and the "basket of fruit" that they are looking for. The Saignée Brut is full bodied and expressive with loads of raspberry and strawberry. On average, all of the cuvées will spend 30-36 months on the lees. They use around 10% of reserve wine in their blending. The current offerings are mostly representative of the wonderful 2009 vintage. All fruit is hand harvested as is the law for Champagne....didn't know that. True artisans, these are hand crafted wines, a mere 10,000 cases are produced annually. By comparison, Moet and Chandon produce 200,000 cases of Dom Perignon alone, and a whopping 2 million cases total production annually! Cliquot clocks in at just 1 million. Unlike those large houses, Delphine and David strive to create a unique and individual house style that expresses both their incredible terroir and the spirit and identity of the family marques and history which stretches over three centuries.
Jean Vesselle produces a full range of styles, but consider two special bottlings to be their "children." One is the Petit Clos. There are just 20 clos in Champagne and the house's "petit clos" is the tiniest walled vineyard in Champagne. Their other child, the Oeil de Perdrix is "The soul of the Pinot Noir." They describe it as vinous or winey...more like a still wine. A great aperitif or food wine, that Delphine claims is "not a chauvenist." In the original meaning of the word chavenism, "an extreme and unreasoning partisanship on behalf of any group to which one belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards rival groups." In this regard, Oeil de Perdrix could teach us all a thing or two. You can, she says, easily transition to a still wine, that it "gives a hand" or passes the baton to the next bottle of white or even red that succeeds it at the table.
From Harvey Steiman , The Wine Spectator."The Oeil de Perdrix name, which translates to “eye of the partridge,” refers to the wine’s light salmon color, much like that of the bird’s eye. The wine sports Pinot Noir’s strawberry and rhubarb notes, with overtones of wet earth, herbs and toast. But they’re just overtones. It’s the delicate fruit that’s so beguiling. What’s that on the finish? Peach?
The estate, which encompasses two separate parcels in Bouzy, has been in the same family for 300 years. Since 1996, it has been run by Delphine Vesselle, daughter of the man whose name is on the label. I’m not sure I can detect a woman’s touch, but the wine sure has charm. 92 points, non-blind."
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Champagne Jean Vesselle
