Champagne Tarlant Reserve Brut NV

Family is a good thing. If you need convincing, just tune into EastEnders – Phil Mitchell often reminds people of the importance of family. The Tarlants, in Champagne, also value family, but don’t have menacing undertones.

What they do have, however, is huge respect for the 11 generations of winemakers before them and for the land tended by them since 1687.

They run their vineyards sustainably and vinify plots separately, adding only a small dosage, which allows the expression of the grapes to shine through. We think Phil would approve.

The Tarlant family have been growing grapes in Champagne since 1687. Louis Tarlant planted the first of their current vineyards around Oeuilly in the Marne in 1780. Throughout the 1800s the Tarlant family supplied Paris with red and white wine, before turning their attention to what we now recognise as Champagne. After the vineyards were devastated by the First World War they were replanted by Louis Tarlant and his wife Julia, and the first Champagne was released under the name of ‘Carte Blanche’ in 1929. Today the domaine comprises 55 parcels spread over 14 hectares, and is run by siblings Benoit and Melanie Tarlant. Benoit is the winemaker while Melanie looks after the business and marketing side of the estate.

The Tarlants feel it is important that their wines reveal the diversity of the sub-soil and the vineyards of the estate. Thus, each parcel is treated separately, and a number of single vineyard wines are made. A number of seldom-seen historic varieties such as Arbanne, Pinot Blanc and Petit Meslier are planted to maintain a link with Champagne’s past. The vineyards are farmed along biodynamic principles in order to preserve the health of the natural environment and maximize the expression of terroir. In the winery, dosage is kept to a minimum to maximize the purity of the wine, while old oak is used to build complexity and stability. Benoit enjoys experimenting with different techniques and equipment such as amphorae as he endeavours to push the boundaries of what can be achieved in Champagne.
Benoit Tarlant and his sister Melanie are the 12th generation of Tarlants to work at the family estate. Benoit has taken a masters at the OIV oenological university, during which time he travelled and worked in a broad range of wine-growing regions around the world before returning to take control of the winemaking at Champagne Tarlant.

To the eye, the Reserve Brut is golden, with an intense pearly mousse and plenty of finesse. The bouquet has scents of apple, peach and pear, while the palate has the freshness of Chardonnay and the richness of the Pinot. The texture is supple and elegant.

Based around the 2007 vintage, plus a selection of reserve wines, the wine is made up of 1/3 each of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. The first fermentation took place in stainless steel vats which are thermostatically controlled at each stage of fermentation. The reserve wines are aged in oak barrels. The wine was manually disgorged and the dosage is 6g/l.