Every Friday The no1 Champagne expert in the world will taste new & old Champagne s to give You a tip or two for the weekend. This week Richard Juhlin tasted new champagnes from Tarlant in Œuilly. [read the full champagne story]
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Tarlant
★★★★
A lovely family property consisting of thirteen hectares in Œuilly, Celles les Condé and Boursault. Unusually, they use new oak barrels from the Vosges for their vintage wines and prestige cuvée, Cuvée Louis. This company, which has a history of viticulture dating back to 1687, is run biodynamic nowadays by Jean-Mary and Benoit Tarlant. There is also a little boarding-house and a wine museum on the property. Very interesting portfolio with wines that are improving from year to year. La Vigne d’Antan is a unique wine from ungrafted vines. The first release of this thrilling wine consisted to 80% of vintage 99. The location at Oueilly is called Les Sables. It provides a very concentrated, expressive wine.
The production process is strictly organic and the wine, fermented in oak barrels, gains extra depth from repeated batonnage. Fat structure and a sense of low acidity with a lack of mineral finesse will perhaps disappear as the wine gets older. The Cuvée Louis was at one time excellent but over-oaky. Nowadays they have attained the maximum from this unique vineyard Les Crayons that has been cultivated with sixty-year-old vines giving a honey-mellow, opulent wine that is very high class. Tarlant also makes 4 rare and splendid Coteaux Champenois Blanc.
