"Éclats" Édition Speciale Degorgement Tardif Extra Brut L20/21

The "Éclats" Édition Spéciale is a late-disgorged Extra Brut from Jeaunaux-Robin in Talus-Saint-Prix, carried by Meunier and the flint soils of the Vallée du Petit Morin. A Champagne built on salinity and tension rather than richness.

Talus-Saint-Prix lies between the Côte des Blancs and the Côte de Sézanne. The plots stretch across slopes above the Petit Morin, on limestone and clay with an unusually high proportion of flint. These river-adjacent, flint-marked soils give the wine its saline, mineral imprint. The risk of late frost is high here, which is why Meunier dominates. Cyril Jeaunaux and Clémence Robin have run the domaine since 1999, third generation, farming organically and in part biodynamically.

The blend consists of 60% Meunier, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay from the 2021 and 2022 vintages, entirely without reserve wines. Hand-harvested, gently pressed on the traditional Coquard press, spontaneous fermentation. 80% is aged in stainless steel and undergoes no malolactic fermentation, preserving the acid structure, while the remaining 20% goes into used Burgundy pièces. Bottled with a dosage of 3 grams, the wine is 12.0% ABV.

The nose shows nutty, lightly toasted notes, restrained citrus nuances, the skin of a freshly cut red apple and orange marmalade on buttered brioche. The palate opens with a fine, tight mousse, carried by a broad arc of acidity. The citrus fruit builds a saline tension with a swift mineral pull, and the nutty, toasted notes carry the wine through to a precise, saline finish.

Dégorgement Tardif means late disgorgement. To that end, the bottles rest in the cellar that Cyril's parents, Michel and Marie-Claude, hand-dug into the chalk in 1986, which holds a constant 12 degrees: between two and seven years on the lees. Cyril Jeaunaux is a member of the Terres et Vins de Champagne association.