Read our mini profile on grower Champagne estate Tarlant, plus Peter Liem picks out which wine of theirs to try.
Region: Vallée de la Marne
Village: Oeuilly
Grape varieties: Pinot Noir – Chardonnay – Pinot Meunier – Arbanne – Pinot Blanc – Petit Meslier
Vineyard area: 14 hectares
Located in the Vallée de la Marne, the Tarlant family has been growing vines in the Marne Valley since 1687, and today, Benoît Tarlant and his sister Melanie run this 13ha (hectare) estate in the village of Oeuilly.
Benoît is a sensitive viticulturist, working each of his parcels according to its specific needs, and eschewing all chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers. Each parcel is pressed and vinified separately, and about half of Tarlant’s production is fermented in barrel without malolactic, often with indigenous yeasts. Here in the Vallée de la Marne, the proximity of the vineyards to the river results in broad, full-flavoured Champagnes, and Tarlant’s wines combine this intrinsic power with a deft liveliness and finesse. The diversity of soils in this sector also offers a complex array of terroir signatures, which Tarlant explores through several single-vineyard Champagnes such as La Vigne d’Antan, a blanc de blancs made from ungrafted Chardonnay vines, and La Vigne d’Or, a pure Meunier Champagne from a vineyard planted in 1947.
Wine to try: Tarlant, La Vigne d’Or Blanc de Meuniers Extra Brut, Vallée de la Marne 2002
This single-vineyard Champagne comes from a parcel of 60-year-old Meunier vines, and in its velvety texture and generous build, it keenly reflects its Marne Valley terroir… Read more here.
Address: Champagne Tarlant, 51480 Oeuilly / Epernay, FRANCE
Website: http://www.tarlant.com/
