The Mémoire de la Vigne Association
is pleased to present…
Jacquet
Jacquet (or Jacquez in the Cévennes region of France ) is a Franco-American hybrid variety originally created from the French varieties Vitis Viniféra, Vitis Aestivalis and Vitis Cinerea.
Jacquet, known also as Lenoir (a county in South Carolina ), Black Spanish, French Grape and Cigar Box Grape, has strange origins. It was brought from Ohio to Natchez , Mississippi by an old Spaniard by the name of Jacques. It was, in the end, this name that prevailed.
Widely-grown across the south of France , Jacquet was successful as a “vin d'assemblage,” or, a wine used in the making of other wines, from the end of the 19 th century though the middle of the 20 th . It even appears on the list of vine varieties legally authorized in the making of Chateauneuf du Pape until 1935 and then unofficially until 1956.
Nonetheless, the cultivation of Jacquet is restricted by climactic and geographic limitations – more specifically, an incompatibility with chalk-rich soils. Today in France , its growth is limited to the area comprised by the Parc Naturel des Monts d'Ardeche . In the sunny valleys of the Cévennes region, the stalks and broad, decorative leaves of the Jacquet vines, over 100 years old, blend beautifully with the dry stone walls that overhang the rivers. The optimal conditions of sunlight and sloping exposure allow for the development of a colorful, rich, flavorful wine .
The Vins d'Antan vintage is harvested in early October. Once put into vats, the wine is primarily composed of Jacquet but also benefits from a small amount of Herbemont (a close cousin of Jacquet). The wine is then aged in barrels for twelve months.