Jacques LASSAIGNE 'Autour de Minuit' Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature 2019

Jacques LASSAIGNE 'Autour de Minuit' Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature 2019

Jacques Lassaigne “Autour de Minuit” Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature 2019 is a powerful, singular Champagne: a zero‑dosage Chardonnay aged three years in Vin Jaune barrels, then three years on lees, giving an intense, saline, umami‑rich profile that’s both opulent and very taut.

Robert Parker The Wine Advocate

"The most divisive Champagne in Lassaigne’s portfolio, the 2019 Blanc de Blancs Autour de Minuit originates this year from Chères Vignes and matured for three years in barrels sourced from Ganevat—previously employed for Vin Jaune and Les Vignes de mon Père—received from the Jura still containing their lees. The result is unlike anything else in Champagne: imbued with a distinctive patina from its élevage and exuding heady aromatics of curry, celery and wormwood, mingled with fennel seed and Timut pepper. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied and vinous, with a delicate mousse, and it was bottled at four to 4.5 atmospheres of pressure rather than the conventional six. Layered and precise, it is carried by a spine of racy acidity and concludes with an enduring, searingly saline finish, though some might contend that it lacks the muscularity to fully support such an ambitious élevage. For better or worse, Autour de Minuit is very much a winemaker’s wine rather than an articulation of terroir, yet this does little to diminish the interest it provokes. It, too, was disgorged à la volée for our July 2025 tasting.

Emmanuel Lassaigne stands as one of Aube’s most inventive and simultaneously dependable producers. His small domaine encompasses 3.8 hectares of estate-owned vineyards situated largely around the winery, supplemented by an additional two to three hectares of purchased fruit from Montgueux, from sites that, though slightly farther afield, are all planted with massal-selection Chardonnay. The vineyards of Montgueux, predominantly southeast-facing slopes, form an isolated chalk outcrop near Troyes. Geologically, this represents the continuation of the strata of the Côte des Blancs, with soils that share many affinities with its more celebrated counterpart.

It was Emmanuel’s father, Jacques, who in the 1960s began to replant some of Montgueux’s long-abandoned vineyards. In 1999, facing the risk of losing the estate, Emmanuel left behind a successful career in manufacturing to return home, working alongside his father for three years before producing his first independent vintage in 2002.

Lassaigne’s vineyards are planted almost entirely to Chardonnay, with a minute proportion devoted to recent plantings of Petit Meslier. Farming at the domaine, though not formally certified organic, is thoughtful: no fertilizers or herbicides are employed. Vineyard soils are managed both mechanically and manually, with rolled grass cover crops and under-vine cultivation. In some parcels, “tressage” replaces hedging, although most plots are trimmed once or twice after flowering. Treatments rely on copper sulfate, copper hydroxide and sulfur—typically associated with organic viticulture to combat mildew. Harvesting is carried out at full maturity, rendering chaptalization unnecessary.

In the cellar, approximately two-thirds of the wines are vinified in stainless steel, with the remainder in oak barrels—sourced second-hand, never younger than three years old and predominantly from Pouilly-Fuissé in the Mâconnais. For certain cuvées, such as Autour de Minuit, used barrels from the Jura are employed, whereas the wine from Clos Sainte-Sophie is matured in vessels sourced from several regions across France. Sulfur use is minimal, restricted to the pressing stage. Wines undergo comparatively extended élevage prior to bottling, ranging from one to four years depending on cuvée, and generally go through malolactic fermentation. Disgorgement is executed either by hand or mechanically, yet never by freezing the deposit in the neck of the bottle. All Champagnes are released without dosage.

The range begins with Les Vignes de Montgueux, typically a three-vintage blend vinified entirely in tank and incorporating around 40% purchased fruit. The upper section of the estate’s Le Cotet vineyard is included here, while the lower, chalkier part—with scarcely 15 centimeters of topsoil—is vinified and bottled separately as Le Cotet. This cuvée is based on two vintages and is aged in both tank and barrel, but it uniquely incorporates about 10% of older bottled Champagnes, which have been “remise en cercles.” La Colline Inspirée, another multi-vintage cuvée, is matured exclusively in 228-liter barrels, with élevage lasting anywhere from eight to 44 months, depending on the vintage contributing to the blend.

Among the vintage bottlings, Blanc de Blancs Millésime—produced annually and vinified exclusively in tank—offers an unvarnished reflection of each harvest, regardless of the challenges it presented, and is now derived from Le Cotet, Les Paluets and Haut Revers du Chutat. Yet it is the following three cuvées that most decisively distinguish themselves through singular character and profoundly thought-provoking qualities.

Issuing from a different parcel each year, the latest release of Le Grain de Beauté originates from Clos Sainte-Sophie and undergoes four years of élevage in 500-liter barrels from the Mâconnais; while savory and textural, it nonetheless preserves a sense of brightness and vibrancy. This stands in contrast to the classic Clos Sainte-Sophie bottling, which is typically aged for a single year in barrels from Burgundy, Cognac and the Jura and has a profile that is faintly evocative of the ouillé (topped-up) Chardonnays of the Jura. When much of Montgueux’s vineyards were abandoned in the postwar years, this clos was among the few to remain under cultivation, serving as a living monument to the village’s viticultural patrimony.

Perhaps the most divisive of the range, Autour de Minuit is likewise drawn from a different parcel annually; in 2019, it derives from Chères Vignes and spent three years in barrels sourced from Ganevat that were previously employed for Vin Jaune and Les Vignes de mon Père. The result is unlike anything else in Champagne: marked by a patina derived from its élevage and with heady aromatics of curry, celery, and wormwood, all carried by a spine of incisive acidity. For better or worse, Autour de Minuit is very much a winemaker’s wine rather than a reference to terroir.

The domaine also produces a small-production Rosé that is based on Les Vignes de Montgueux with the addition of 15% barrel-aged red wine and a Coteaux Champenois that is sourced from a site that typically reaches about 1.5% higher potential alcohol at harvest.

The style across the range is authoritative, vinous and powerful, generally bottled at five atmospheres of pressure rather than the standard six (with Autour de Minuit even lower, at four to 4.5 bars). At the same time, the wines remain tensile and laden with mouthwatering acidity. Lassaigne’s Champagnes are not merely pushing the qualitative frontier of the Aube but are also redefining creative possibilities for the entire region. While his methods might have produced inconsistent results in less-capable hands, Emmanuel Lassaigne has firmly established himself among the top three producers of the Aube. The proof, as ever, is in the glass." - Reviewed by: Kristaps Karklins

Origin and concept

• 100% Chardonnay from old vines (around 60+ years) on chalk in Montgueux, from parcels such as Les Paluets / Grandes Côtes.

• The wine is made in collaboration with Jean‑François Ganevat, using his Vin Jaune barrels for a three‑year élevage, then three years in bottle on lees.

• Brut Nature (zero dosage), native yeasts, no fining or filtration, minimal SO₂ at the press.

Tasting note

Appearance: Medium gold with a bright, luminous core and a fine, persistent mousse.

Nose: Candied citrus, apricot, baked apple, orange zest, tropical fruit, sweet spices (cinnamon), puff pastry, almond paste, cashew, and a clear Vin Jaune signature: walnut, bouillon, cedar, light oxidative notes.

Palate: Full‑bodied, creamy and enveloping, yet driven by strong tension. Orchard and tropical fruit are wrapped in spice, nuttiness and subtle oxidative complexity, all carried by vibrant acidity and pronounced chalky minerality.

Finish: Exceptionally long, saline and umami‑rich, with lingering citrus peel, nuts, stock/bouillon notes and a very precise, dry close.

Style and aging

This is a complex, traditional‑style Blanc de Blancs with a Jura Vin Jaune imprint: oxidative nuance, nuts and savory depth on a very mineral Champagne frame. It is already impressive but clearly built for long aging, where the oxidative, nutty and saline elements should integrate further over 10+ years.

Food pairing

Ideal with shellfish, crab, lobster, turbot or sole with beurre blanc, and rich seafood or poultry in cream and mushroom sauces. It will also shine with Comté, aged hard cheeses, and dishes that can match its umami, nutty complexity (truffled eggs, veal or poultry in Vin Jaune‑style sauces).