From: Aube, Champagne, France
Blend: 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay
Taste: This blend is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay from the Aube, sourced from Tassin’s prime vineyards in the communes of Celles-sur-Ource and Landreville. The Pinot Noir is center stage with a host of juicy red-fruit flavors and pale floral tones, while the Chardonnay does all the things it should do: gentle lift, delicate clean lines, and tidy finish.
Pairing: This Champagne has us dreaming of soft cheeses, crab-based dishes, and veal. The following Food & Wine recipe for Panko-Crusted Veal Chops with Sorrel Cream introduces a breaded version of veal with its mild, refined flavor and smooth texture, and combines it with the a tangy sauce made with crème fraîche and lemony fresh sorrels.
About NV Champagne Tassin Successeurs Brut, from APS Wine & Spirits.
Just as in Burgundy, marl soils are ideal for Pinot Noir and chalky soils are ideal for Chardonnay. Tassin’s base wines are fermented in stainless steel from beginning to end, followed by natural malolactic fermentation. Thibault allows the base wines to settle twice in vat in his deep, cold, and hand-cut stone cellar for a pristine and natural clarification of the wine. After the secondary fermentation, the wines are aged and gently riddled. Thibault’s Brut is always a three-vintage cuveé with one vintage serving as the foundation and the other two accenting it. Thirty months of aging on the lees gives it true depth.
We thought our clients could get a deeper insight into what makes Tassin “tick” by hearing from Anne-Fleur and Thibault themselves, so we asked them to give us their thoughts about their Brut and Blanc de Blanc Cuvées:
“Growing up in a Champagne family, we have tasted many, many wines both from the Aube and the Marne, and one thing shines through all the best of them: the art and skill of blending. It is taken for granted that the blender must begin with fruit from excellent vineyards, but vintage, variety, and style frame their ultimate expression. Thibault blends the Champagnes of Tassin, and his “touch” really comes through in the glass. With our Brut Cuvée, he used predominantly Pinot Noir from 2019, with contributions from 2018 and 2017 (an excellent vintage in the Côte des Bar, small, but no botrytis like the Marne), along with a refreshing percentage of Chardonnay to temper the power of the Pinot Noir. Tasting his blend for our Brut Cuvée, we consider it to be a most authentic wine, expressing our desired balance of generous fruit and delicate finesse. We are very proud to offer Thibault’s Brut as the essential Cuvée of our estate.”