Tarlant

The Tarlant family's wine-growing presence in Champagne dates to 1687, an unusually deep family continuity even by Champagne standards. The family has farmed in Œuilly through twelve generations, with documented winemaking activity through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The transition from selling fruit to bottling under the family label came in 1928, with Tarlant releasing its first own-label Champagne cuvées in the inter-war period. The estate has remained continuously family-owned through every subsequent decade, with operational leadership now shared by siblings Benoît and Mélanie Tarlant, the twelfth generation (Benoît overseeing the vineyards and cellar, Mélanie the marketing and sales).

• Tarlant family in Champagne since 1687
• Twelve generations of continuous family wine-growing
• First own-label Tarlant bottlings in 1928
• Benoît and Mélanie Tarlant represent the twelfth generation in operational leadership

Tarlant's vineyards are concentrated around Œuilly in the western Vallée de la Marne, with smaller parcels in surrounding villages. The estate farms approximately 14 hectares across all three Champenois grape varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier) plus small plantings of the rare grapes Arbane, Petit Meslier, and Pinot Blanc. The Arbane plantings are particularly rare: the variety nearly went extinct in Champagne over the twentieth century and survives in only a small handful of estate plantings, with Tarlant's BAM cuvée being one of the few commercial bottlings featuring the grape. Œuilly's position in the western Vallée de la Marne gives the estate access to varied terroir signatures across the western valley.

• Vineyards concentrated around Œuilly in western Vallée de la Marne
• Approximately 14 hectares across all three Champenois grapes plus rare varieties
• Rare grape plantings: Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc
• Arbane: nearly extinct grape variety surviving in few estate plantings

Tarlant's range is built around zero-dosage and low-dosage cuvée production, with the majority of the estate's range bottled at zero dosage or extra-brut levels (under 6 g/L sugar). The zero-dosage approach exposes base wine quality directly, requiring vineyard work that produces wines capable of standing without dosage's compensatory sweetness. Tarlant's cellar practices include oak fermentation on key cuvées and extended bottle aging on lees. The combination has produced wines treated as benchmarks for contemporary low-dosage Champagne.

• Range built around zero-dosage and low-dosage cuvée production
• Majority of estate range at zero dosage or extra-brut levels
• Oak fermentation on key cuvées
• Extended bottle aging on lees

The Tarlant prestige tier features Cuvée Louis and BAM. Cuvée Louis is an homage to Benoît's great-great-grandfather Louis Tarlant, the first to bottle Tarlant estate wine in 1928; it is a 50% Pinot Noir / 50% Chardonnay cuvée from the old-vine Les Crayons parcel in Œuilly, built as a multi-vintage blend (a base year completed by reserve wines) rather than a single vintage. BAM is a blend of the three near-extinct 'forgotten' Champagne grapes, Pinot Blanc, Arbane, and Petit Meslier, with no Chardonnay or Pinot Meunier; its name also plays on Benoît And Mélanie. Each cuvée demonstrates a different facet of the estate's philosophy: Cuvée Louis the old-vine multi-vintage approach, and BAM the rare-grape preservation and varietal experimentation.

• Cuvée Louis: 50% Pinot Noir / 50% Chardonnay old-vine multi-vintage cuvée from Les Crayons
• Cuvée Louis honors Benoît's great-great-grandfather Louis Tarlant (first estate bottling, 1928)
• BAM: blend of the three near-extinct grapes Pinot Blanc, Arbane, and Petit Meslier
• Name BAM plays on Benoît And Mélanie

Beyond the prestige single-parcel tier, the Tarlant range includes Zero Brut Nature (the volume face: zero-dosage multi-vintage blend), La Vigne d'Antan (a single-vineyard Chardonnay from old vines), and L'Étincelante (a vintage-dated white prestige cuvée). The estate's commercial position has grown steadily through the 2010s and 2020s on the back of strong critical reception for the estate's zero-dosage and rare-grape work. Tarlant sits at the experimental-prestige end of contemporary grower-Champagne, with the estate's twelve-generation continuity providing an unusual depth of family experience that distinguishes Tarlant from younger Selossiste-movement estates.