Zero Rosé Brut Nature, Base 2018

A rosé Champagne that places spice ahead of fruit. The nose is focused and herbaceously spicy, with wild raspberry, wild strawberry, undergrowth, porcini and soy sauce – an umami impression that builds already on the nose.

The grapes grow on the coteaux de rivières of the Vallée de la Marne, in the communes of Œuilly, Boursault, Celles-lès-Condé and Saint-Agnan. The subsoil consists of Campanian chalk, Sparnacian, flint scree, siliceous Lutetian sands, and limestone from the Lutetian and Thanetian. The vines average 40 years of age. The soils are barely disturbed: natural cover crops between the rows, light soil work beneath the row, green manure, plant studies and herbal therapy, plus gentle pruning following the Poussard method.

A blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, vinified plot by plot: the Pinot Noir and Meunier are macerated, with the Pinot Noir then gently pressed by gravity, and the Chardonnay pressed slowly, likewise by gravity. Harvest from 29 August to 13 September 2018, supplemented by 25 percent reserve wines aged in barrel. Primary fermentation occurs spontaneously, followed by six months' ageing in oak barrels, with no induced malolactic fermentation, no filtration and no fining. Bottled on 3 April 2019, disgorged on 22 February 2024 after four years and ten months of lees ageing in bottle, dosage 0 g/l – a Brut Nature in the truest sense of the word.

Very dry and spicy, with delicate fruit, a saline note and plenty of minerality. The effervescence is tightly integrated, giving the wine a demanding, clear-cut structure.

Tarlant in Œuilly has existed since 1687, now run by the twelfth generation, Benoît and Mélanie Tarlant. Since the 1970s the house has bottled its Champagnes without dosage; today 90 percent of production is Brut Nature. The 14 hectares spread across more than 55 plots are farmed organically, with wild yeasts used in the cellar – without seeking certification.