NV Jean Vesselle Brut Reserve Grand Cru 750 ml

At Wine Access, our wine team meets once a week to evaluate new wines. We’re an agreeable lot, but about once a month, a dispute erupts over who gets to take a special bottle home. That’s what happened with the Jean Vesselle Brut Reserve Grand Cru. It’s that delicious.

Based in the Grand Cru village of Bouzy, the heart of Pinot Noir country in Champagne’s Montagne de Reims, the Vesselles have been growing wine grapes for over 300 years. Today the firm is helmed by Delphine and David Vesselle, a husband-and-wife team who harvest by hand, use indigenous yeasts, and make only around 6,000 cases per year. They are the quintessential small family grower, consistently delivering superb quality and value. 

Antonio Galloni once remarked, “Rich and vinous, the Vesselle Champagnes deliver considerable intensity and personality.” We agree. This bottle’s 100% Grand Cru pedigree is on full display, the kind of refinement that has made Vesselle a staple in chic restaurants like Yountville’s Bouchon and Napa’s La Toque. 

Comprising 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay, the Brut Réserve is big, bold, Pinot-driven Champagne with a generous dosage of around 11 g/l, giving it a somewhat indulgent profile. Aromas waft up like bubbles: fresh honeycrisp apple. Mirabelle plum, saffron, white tea, and faint notes of mandarin orange peel and toffee. On the palate it's broad and vinous, delicate and powerful all at once.  The French would use the word “gouleyant,” loosely translated as “gulpable.” Our wine team heartily agrees!