Disgorged in February 2021 with 0.75 grams per liter dosage, the NV Extra-Brut Cuvée No. 744 is based on the 2016 vintage. Exhibiting complex aromas of orange oil, crisp stone fruit, fenugreek and subtle hints of yellow Chartreuse, it's medium to full-bodied, pillowy and seamless, with terrific depth at the core, lively acids and a pinpoint mousse. Simultaneously vivid but replete with sapid nuance, this new release throws into relief all the work the Jacquesson brothers have made in the vineyards and cellar over the last two decades. - WK

Based on the 2016 vintage, cuvée no. 744 offers an elegant, floral and toasty bouquet with white fruits, peach, lemon, and herbs. Pure and clean on the palate, this is a vibrant, energetic and racy Champagne. Grapes are sourced from Aÿ, Dizy, and Hauvtilliers (55% of the crop) and Avize and Oiry (45% of the crop). Disgorged: November 2020. Dosage: 0.75 g/L. (Drink between 2022-2030)

The new release of Jacquesson “Cuvée 744” Extra Brut from the Chiquet family is from the base year of 2016 and was disgorged in January of 2021. It was finished with a micro dosage of .75 grams per liter. It is hard to believe that the non-vintage Cuvée series is now closing in on its twentieth year, as the first iteration, numbered 728, was first released in 2003! The Chiquet brothers have moved away from giving exact cépages numbers for this bottling in more recent times, preferring to rather give a breakdown of which villages their fruit has come from in any given release. The general numbers are around fifty percent chardonnay, thirty percent pinot noir and twenty percent pinot meunier, but each year, this is adjusted depending on which grape variety have excelled in a given vintage. So the breakdown of the 744 is fifty-five percent from the communes of Aÿ, Dizy and Hautvillers and forty-five percent from Oiry and Avize, with a small percentage of reserve wines added to complete the blend. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a sophisticated blend of apple, fresh-baked bread, a complex base of soil tones, caraway seed, dried flowers and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with bright acids, fine focus and bounce, lovely mineral drive, elegant mousse and a long, complex and beautifully balanced finish. Though this is very low dosage this year, the style of the 2016 base, coupled with the nice foundation of reserve wines, gives it a relatively early drinkability that has not always been evident in past iterations of the Seven Series, some of which have demanded quite a bit of cellaring before they relax their acids. Though the 744 will age long and gracefully- and still has a serious spine of acidity, it seems likely to blossom a bit sooner than a few other recent iterations in this fine series and should start to drink well with only a modicum of bottle age.

A tangy and intense Champagne with apricots and biscuits and orange-like acidity. Full-bodied with depth and verticality that takes you deep down the palate. Electric finish. Very dry at the end with lovely bitterness. Baked apples. 0.75 g/L dosage. Disgorged August 2021. Based on 2016. 45% chardonnay, 35% pinot noir and 20% pinot meunier. Drink now.

91 +The NV Cuvée No. 744 Grand Vin is a bright, taut Champagne that is going to need at least a few years to come together. This is one of the more reticent editions of the Cuvée I have tasted in a very long time. Citrus, crushed rocks and white flowers add an attractive upper register. The Chardonnay feels quite expressive today. Disgorged: January, 2021. (Drink between 2022-2030) - AG