Tarlant

Family and history

Tarlant is a family estate in Oeuilly in the Marne Valley, near Épernay. According to local records, Pierre Tarlant was the family's first grower, starting to work vines in 1687 in Gland, in the Aisne département. The family moved to Oeuilly in 1780. Louis Tarlant, mayor of Oeuilly, played an important part in the recognition of the Champagne appellation in 1927. Today his descendants Benoît and Mélanie Tarlant run the house as the twelfth generation. Mélanie looks after marketing and sales above all, Benoît the vineyards and cellar.

Vineyards, cellar and cuvées

The estate covers 14 hectares across 55 parcels in Oeuilly, Boursault, Saint-Agnan and Celles-lès-Condé. The soils are made up of limestone, sand, chalk and clay, and the domaine is certified organic. Alongside Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, they also grow Arbane, Pinot Blanc and Petit Meslier. Each parcel is pressed and vinified separately, and about half of the production ferments in barrel without malolactic fermentation, often with native yeasts.

“Louis Tarlant, mayor of Oeuilly, played an important part in the recognition of the Champagne appellation in 1927.

As early as the 1980s, Jean-Mary Tarlant was one of the first to release a champagne with no dosage. Today 90 per cent of production is Brut Nature. The best-known cuvées include:

• Zéro: the entry point to the range, made from roughly equal parts Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, with a little reserve wine from the rare varieties.
• La Vigne d'Or: pure Meunier from a parcel planted in 1947.
• La Vigne d'Antan: a blanc de blancs from ungrafted Chardonnay.
• BAM!: Pinot Blanc, Arbane and Petit Meslier, whose initials give the cuvée its name, planted in 2003 in the lieu-dit Four à Chaux-Sablé in Oeuilly.
• Cuvée Louis: half Chardonnay, half Pinot Noir, created in 1982 by the parents of Benoît and Mélanie and named after Louis Tarlant.

Visit and tasting

The tour takes in the vineyards, the press, the vinification cellars, the barrel store and the vault holding the reserve wines, along with an archive of old vintages. It ends with a tasting of Brut Nature champagnes. Visits are by reservation only, in French and English. Prices are 15 euros for the guided tasting of three cuvées and 25 euros for the tour with tasting. Address: 21 Rue de la Coopérative, 51480 Oeuilly.