Long live free Champagne! | The Press

Last spring, we went beyond the Champagne of sumptuous tasting rooms and historic cellars buried in kilometers of chalk pits to discover agricultural, independent, organic, living Champagne. At the beginning of the period of all the reunions, let’s drink to the bubbles of artisans!

France’s most prestigious wine region, where the hectare now costs more than 1 million euros (or almost 1.4 million Canadian dollars), is still very much dominated by trade. The big houses make their cuvées with grapes bought from winegrowers. But for several years, the Association of Organic Champagnes has been enhanced by a host of small estates.

These do not sell at the property and receive only by appointment, when their owners are not busy in the fields or in the cellar.

There is no commercial team at Tarlant, Piollot, Doquet and company. And succeeding in buying their bottles in France is sometimes more complicated than finding them in a branch of the SAQ or from their Quebec agents.

We can consider ourselves lucky to have access to all these joyful bubbles.

The transmission of independence

The little Champagne trip begins in the Marne valley. Benoît and Mélanie Tarlant, brother and sister, come from a long line of fiercely independent winegrowers. Their great-great-great-grandfather, Louis Tarlant, helped develop the Champagne Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in 1927 and vowed never to sell grapes to the big commercial houses again. Their father Jean-Mary, for his part, launched into “brut nature” – the driest of champagnes, without any added sugar – from the 1970s.

Today, the heirs of 14 hectares of vines (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, but also Pinot Blanc, Arbane and Petit Meslier) find themselves at odds with the AOC. They consider it too restrictive in some respects – Benoît has an experimental streak, as evidenced by the Argilité cuvée, fermented and aged in an amphora – and far too permissive in others.

However, they continue the tradition of brut nature, pushing it even further with a conversion to organic now complete. “Making brut nature forces us to be radical in our choices in the vineyard because we can’t add sugar to ‘correct’ anything,” says Benoît. Basically, you have to make an excellent champagne wine, which stands on its own. I’m not a sugar radical, but raw nature is what has been passed down to us. »

“When the consumer buys a bottle of Tarlant, he is buying research. Working with nature is all about nuances. It’s never black or white. You have to remain vigilant and constantly question yourself,” says her sister Mélanie, as we observe the green hillsides all around.

Organic pioneer

A stop at Pascal Doquet, president of the Association of Organic Champagnes (which he co-founded in 1998) and winemaker whose cuvées are well established in Quebec, was in order.

Winemaker on the Côte des Blancs since 1982, he took complete control of the former family estate in 2004, supported by his wife, Laure. The disheveled, who calls himself a “hippie” trained in Eastern philosophies, produces between 65,000 and 70,000 bottles on 8.5 hectares.

Working the vine without chemicals has never been easy. “At the beginning, there were really not many of us. You had to be straight in your boots and not be afraid of what people will say. Even today, we wonder why there are not more organic vineyards. »

That said, the disappearance of biodiversity gives reason to the destroyers of chemistry. “We are very small, but we have a big influence! », rejoices Mr. Doquet.

A family matter

“Dawn is rising”, “When Champagne wakes up at Dawn”, we read in the specialized press. Aube is the southernmost region of the appellation. She has long been left behind. But it is here that several darlings of artisan champagne lovers, including Charles Dufour (Bulles de Comptoir), Cédric Bouchard, Vincent Couche, Vouette & Sorbée, Jacques Lassaigne, are located.

It is also here, in Polisot, that we find the Piollot-Moreau family. In 1986, Roland Piollot decided to champagne the grapes that his father had previously sold. Dominique Moreau left her teaching career to found Marie Courtin champagnes (her grandmother’s name) in 2005. Jeanne Piollot, their daughter, recently bought a plot in Molesme, on the other side of the border”, in Burgundy, where it vinifies delicious bubbles in the Vin de France appellation. The one who also helps her parents in Champagne was thirsty for freedom and experimentation.

Defying the tradition of blending, Roland Piollot only produces single-varietal champagnes, including the superb Colas Robin, made from pinot blanc. It is an act of resistance, most of the vines of this grape having been uprooted over time, in favor of chardonnay and pinot noir.

Dominique Moreau also sticks to a single grape variety per cuvée, from a single plot and even from a single vintage. One can hardly do purer as an expression of a vineyard. What’s more, the couple’s vines are run biodynamically. Jeanne, she is slowly converting her battered plot.

The wines of Roland and Jeanne Piollot are represented in Quebec by Les vins dame-jeanne and sold by private order only (or in restaurants). The same goes for Champagnes Marie-Courtin, which belong to the portfolio of the Art & vin agency.

Hints

Champagne Tarlant Zero Brut Nature

This flagship cuvée from Domaine Tarlant, made from equal parts Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, has a nose that evokes the happy marriage of raspberry and white chocolate. On the palate, the milky side is balanced by a very assertive acidity.

$54.50 (14813732)

Pascal Doquet Horizon blanc de blancs brut

A favorite of the winegrower’s champagnes offered at the SAQ, this Doquet has a classic profile, just enough brioche/oxidative. Made from 100% Chardonnay, it is versatile and comforting.

$57 (11528046), organic

Champagne Pierre Gerbais Grains de Celles

This very fresh and delicate champagne reveals invigorating green apple notes. We will gladly whistle it at the aperitif with friends / girlfriends, around the kitchen island.

$49.50 (13647014)

Vincent Couche Elegance Extra Brut

Like the Côte des Bar where it comes from, this sulphur-free cuvée is composed mainly of Pinot Noir (84%), with a little Chardonnay. We have a slight preference for the Couche vintages, which are a little more expensive, but the finesse of this vinous brut does not disappoint for the price.

$48.50 (14758816), organic

Champagne Geoffroy Expression Premier Cru

Pinot Meunier (50%) outweighs Pinot Noir (40%) and Chardonnay (10%) in this blend. The 8.4 g of sugar per liter can hardly be felt, so balanced is the wine. For lovers of fuller champagnes looking for a toasted/hazelnut touch.

$61 (13699754)

Philippe Lancelot Grand Cru Cramant 2015

There is little of this higher-end champagne left in the network, but the 2016 Fine Fleur cuvée should arrive at the SAQ shortly. Sulphur-free, this blanc de blancs is fine and complex, with a spicy undertone and thirst-quenching bitterness.

$136 (14997518)

Excluding SAQ

You will find a good selection of signature champagnes on the Déserteur site, at Café DAX, at Vino Rama, at Ferme 40 arpents (in Kamouraska) and at the Réserve naturelle (Sutton), among others.