Champagne La Vigne Royale 2007 Champagne Tarlant

Champagne La Vigne Royale Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature 2007 from Tarlant is one of the most precious bottles from this family Champagne house, sourced from the Mocque Tonneau lieu-dit in Celles-lès-Condé, former Principality of Condé. Only 1,500 bottles produced, 100% Pinot Noir, 14 years ageing on lees, zero dosage. La Vigne Royale invites you to a vibrant and voluptuous tasting. Fourteen years on lees deliver extraordinary toasted and golden richness, yet Pinot Noir remains dominant, musky and fruited with herbaceous edges and a chalky finish.

The vineyard and terroir

La Vigne Royale takes its name from the historic past of this Celles-lès-Condé slope, once a favourite haunt of the French royal court. The vineyard overlooks the confluence of the Surmelin and Dhuys rivers, occupying one of the most dramatic and steep positions in Tarlant's vineyard. The Mocque Tonneau parcel is the steepest on the domaine, a 33% gradient facing due south at 170 metres altitude. Work here is entirely manual, in conditions few vignerons would accept. The subsoil is hard Lutetian limestone, a substrate of remarkable mineral wealth and root depth that gives the Pinot Noir a sapid mineral energy, tension and characteristic chalky length. The vines were planted in massale selection in 1991 by Maurice Boiselle and Jean-Mary Tarlant. The 2007 vintage was described by the family as the first extreme climate year of their generation, with a long snowy winter, intense frost, then a legendary scorching summer that produced grapes of incomparable concentration and ripeness. Harvest took place early on the morning of 12 September 2007. Gravity pressing, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts and 8 months on vintage lees in Burgundy oak barrels. No malolactic fermentation to preserve all the tension and natural terroir energy. No filtration, no fining. Fourteen years ageing on lees in bottle before disgorgement. Brut Nature, zero dosage per litre.

Tasting profile

The robe is luminous old gold with amber glints, a visual depth and richness that speaks to fourteen patient years of ageing. The bubbles are fine and persistent, a sign of maturity remarkably well preserved. The nose is of stunning complexity and depth for a Blanc de Noirs, roasted hazelnuts and brioche lead, followed by dried apricots, orange zest and a ray of honey. Beneath, mineral notes of chalk and a fine smoke that recalls Burgundy oak. With aeration, cep and truffle develop, announcing a tertiary evolution of absolute grandeur and nobility. Caramelised pear, lemon juice and fresh herbs complete this bouquet of remarkable richness and complexity. On the palate, the wine is powerful and precise, with creamy texture, lively acidity and notes of almonds, citrus and candied orange. Pinot Noir asserts its musky, fruited presence in full measure, carried by that characteristic chalky length from the Lutetian limestone. The finish is long, saline and of absolute persistence. Impressive in structure and precision.

The house

Since the reign of Louis XIV, the Tarlant family cultivated vines in the Marne valley. Today, Benoît and Mélanie Tarlant, twelfth generation, manage their 14 hectares at Oeuilly in certified organic agriculture, vinifying separately each grape variety from each parcel. La Vigne Royale perfectly embodies the house philosophy, a single parcel, one grape variety, one vintage, absolute patience, zero compromise. La Vigne Royale is Champagne liberated from all convention.

Food pairings

This Champagne La Vigne Royale Blanc de Noirs 2007 will pair beautifully with roasted lobster in truffle butter, wild turbot in sea salt crust, veal sweetbreads with morels, truffled poultry, or a board of aged cheeses such as 36-month Comté or aged Brillat-Savarin. It will equally shine alone, in a large red Burgundy glass, left twenty minutes open to the air to allow fourteen years of lees to unfold in full complexity. Served between 12 and 14°C, slightly chambered, it will reveal all the toasted richness, chalky depth and absolute nobility of a Champagne Blanc de Noirs aged with a patience and conviction few houses in the world can claim.