1999 Tarlant "La Vigne d'or", Champagne

Even though I have just tasted this wine, when Benoìt Tarlant was in Copenhagen - I simply needed re-taste it as a “real” tasting note to me, is when I have the pleasure of drinking and sharing the whole bottle with my wife.
Food this night was Risotto with mushrooms and that combination was spot on.

The 1999 La Vigne d’or is a debut release and it’s 100% Pinot Meunier from vines that are roughly 50 years old. Dosage is around 2-3 g/l.

The wine is exactly as I remember it, but when having the entire bottle you can’t help to analyze and reflect a bit more. It’s like you can almost divide the wine into two sections. The first “Section” you come across is a seriously concentrated nose of honey, evening perfume, mushrooms, herbs, dark bread, cornfield and a smooth waxy profile. There is also a slightly oxidation, making these components a bit deeper and “darker” scented. If, what I have just described was all the Champagne had to offer, then I guess it would have been a bit boring. But luckily there are additional spectrums and this is where its greatness comes from. Underneath the bold fruit core there are a divine note of lemon peel and a brushing firm tone of salty minerals making it stand so much taller and interesting in the glass. The taste is proof of all these components, as the voluptuous hurricane of fruits is the first wave to hit the tongue and secondly comes this almost raw and salty soil expression, cleaning the palate with great precision, high acidity and clarity. You especially notice this almost raw expression, when having it without food – but with my risotto it’s of course a bit more subtle.

A seriously great bottle of Champagne and once again an eye-opener to what quality the Pinot Meunier can obtain, when in the right hands.

Glass: Spiegelua Adina (Adina to bring out the beast) and Zalto (to make it a bit more elegant).