Chartogne-Taillet Saint Thierry Extra Brut Champagne 2020
The scent is fresh tomato, with the green of the leaf still on it.
Region: Champagne · Type: Sparkling · Vintage: 2020 · Producer: Chartogne-Taillet · Grape: Chardonnay
Tasted 2026-06-24
In the glass
The aroma is fresh tomato, green leaf and all. I was surprised that Chardonnay alone could give a tomato note like this; it takes real skill. Chartogne-Taillet does tomato notes well.
Producer
The Taillet family's records as wine growers go back to 1490 and Nicolas Taillet. By 1700 a second Fiacre Taillet was writing memoirs of his life's work and of the important events of the village, the family and his profession. Chartogne-Taillet is the only remaining récoltant-manipulant in the village of Merfy, a grower that makes Champagne from its own grapes, and the domaine works its fields by hand or with the help of horses.
Site
This wine comes from a single plot, Les Grands Champs, in Merfy in the Montagne de Reims. The village lies north of Reims, with its vineyards on the southern slopes of the Massif de Saint-Thierry. The land of Les Grands Champs was once worked by the Benedictine monks of the Abbaye de Saint-Thierry. The plot faces south to south east, with limestone clays and Thanetian sands over Campanian chalk.
Vinification
At the domaine, each parcel is fermented and aged separately, and fermentations happen naturally with native yeasts selected from its own vineyards. The domaine works with barrels, large-format oak casks, stainless steel, concrete eggs, wine globes and underground concrete tanks.