Visiting the Chassenay d’Arce winery in the southernmost part of Champagne, near Burgundy, while listening to saxophonist Mette Henriette’s latest album, Drifting, was nothing short of inspiring.
There is something in the breath of Mette Henriette’s saxophone that evokes the rise of a champagne bubble. Her suspended phrases, her inhabited silences, and her inner intensity embody the secret link between music and matter, between vibration and terroir. The world of this Sami-Norwegian musician, deeply connected to nature and the light of the North, resonates strangely with the approach of the Chassenay d’Arce Cooperative, founded in 1956 in the heart of the Côte des Bar, in the Aube region, which crafts its champagnes like living musical scores.
When listening to Mette Henriette, each note seems to be chosen with extreme care, like the gestures of the 158 winegrowing families that make up Chassenay d’Arce, the first Champagne cooperative to be certified Vignerons Engagés (Committed Winegrowers), which is working to reduce its ecological impact with new eco-design initiatives. Jazz and champagne share the art of patience, simplicity, and repetition of pure gestures to bring out the most sparkling notes.
So it is this first analogy that will guide my steps through the house’s ranges to find its counterpart in the world of female jazz. Like a cuvée mirroring a voice, a breath, or an instrument.
In the dim light of a cellar, as in the intimacy of a jazz club, certain voices and certain aromas seem to suspend time. Les Essentielles open the set, sparkling like a welcoming melody. These are clear, direct, sunny vintages, reminiscent of Esperanza Spalding’s generous spirit. Her double bass and voice spring forth with the same obviousness as a first sip of Sélection Blanche (90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Blanc): a promise of joy, a universal language, an invitation to fearlessly enter the world of champagne as well as that of jazz. A champagne for all occasions, the art here is to immediately touch the heart with its richness, freshness, and a few spicy notes.
Then come Les Caractères. Here, the score becomes denser and more demanding, like the bold inflections of Cécile McLorin Salvant. Her voice, sometimes deep, sometimes playful, is deeply moving in its intensity, and each phrase bears the mark of a unique personality. In the same way, these vintages reveal the terroir in all its uniqueness: a grape variety (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc), a vintage, a strong identity. Les Caractères, inspired by the particularities of the different grape varieties, are like a richly textured improvisation, confidently imposing its rhythm, such as the Pinot Blanc 2015 – Extra brut (100% Pinot Blanc) with its salty tobacco notes.
With Les Authentiques, the house celebrates respect for and the future of their terroirs. These champagnes, with their understated packaging and often sourced from vineyards in conversion to organic farming, reflect Géraldine Laurent’s quest for truth: raw, uncompromising, deeply sincere, continuing the jazz tradition but with a voice all her own. Her daring improvisations are like frank, unvarnished words that resonate with the idea of an “authentic” cuvée, stripped of all artifice. Like this magnificent Cuvée Audace 2017 – Extra brut (100% Pinot Noir), which, despite its low dosage, offers the delicious mellowness of buttered bread. Thus, in the sparkle of a bubble, as in the murmur of a saxophone, Chassenay d’Arce and female jazz come together: an art of transforming time into pure emotion.
Finally, Les Confidentielles, the quintessence of the Chassenay d’Arce house, are akin to the refined and spiritual world of Alice Coltrane. A pianist, harpist, and composer, she brought a meditative and cosmic dimension to jazz. These rare and precious cuvées are made for moments suspended in time, when time expands and each bubble becomes silence. Like Alice Coltrane’s music, Les Confidentielles require contemplation and openness, offering in return an experience of rare intensity. Thus, tasting a Confidences 2012 – brut (83% Pinot Noir, 15% Chardonnay, and 2% Pinot Blanc) is like attending a unique concert that is renewed each year. Each sip becomes a caramelized note, each effervescence an improvisation, each silence between two sips a space for listening.
Champagne and jazz share the same alchemy: transforming the moment into emotion, making the invisible visible, setting time alight. And when the bubbles burst in your mouth like an unexpected note, you understand that tasting champagne, like listening to improvisation, is nothing less than the art of the moment.
Thank you to
Manuel Henon, Managing Director
Romain Aubriot, Cellar Master
Céline Robert, Wine Consultant
Benoît Delcourt, Sales Director,
Elise Dinquel, Marketing and Communications Manager
for your warm welcome.
Thank you to Aurélie Soulat from Vinconnexion Int. for this gourmet invitation.
Chassenay d’Arce 11, rue du Pressoir 10110 Ville-sur-Arce
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