Champagne Discovery

Our “Champagne of the Month” for May 2026 is from Éric Taillet who is located in the Vallée de la Marne at Baslieux-sous-Châtillon, deep within Champagne’s Meunier heartland. Éric is the 4th generation of this family domaine which produced its first bottles in 1961. 

 

Since taking the helm, he has overseen a renovation of the 6 hectares domaine in 

the village which is predominantly planted with Meunier for which Éric has a clear affinity, crafting wonderfully rich and aromatic champagnes. For many years, the estate has been farmed without chemical herbicides and pesticides; leading to HVE and Viticulture Durable en Champagne certification. The ethos of Champagne Éric Taillet is for cultivation on living soil and through the addition of organic matter to encourage development of microbial life; which in turn leads to deep secondary rooting. It is these deep rooted, old vines that provide the essential connection with the terroir; ultimately producing wines with immense character. Much of the work in the vineyard is carried out by hand with ploughing by horse to limit soil compacting. Agroforestry practices have been introduced with the planting of 600 Beech trees across the estate. The many benefits of “viti’-foresterie” include increased biological activity in the soil, pest control through the introduction of beneficial insects, water resource management and pollution control, climate assistance by means of providing shade and windbreaks and of course increasing the diversity of the landscape giving a more natural environmental feel.

 

Two pneumatic presses were installed in 2024 which allow precise and gentle pressing of the grapes, reducing the amount of oxygenation of the juice. Vinification is carried out in a mixture of stainless steel vats alongside fûts and foudres de chêne. Sustainable winemaking practices are carried out, after harvest, the juice is allowed to rest to prevent unnecessary oxidation and there is no cold stabilisation. Wines are not fined in order to allow them to fully express themselves naturally. In general, wines are afforded 15 months of aging and are placed on their lees to extend the maturation process with a finer, longer, and more delicate yeast autolysis. 25% of the production is aged ‘sous-liège” with natural corks and staples, the rest with crown caps.

 

“Bansionensi 17” is a vintage wine born from the 2017 harvest and named after the Latin name for the village. Two plots provide the base of the wine which is 100% old vines Meunier: “Les Pierreuses” and “La Brusse”. Both have clay-limestone soil with flint. Fermentation and 9 months aging in fûts de chêne, the wine was neither fined nor filtered and malolactic fermentation was prevented. A further maturation process of 36 months prior to bottling ‘sous liège’ with a natural cork. Disgorgement took place on February 2021, a dosage of 1.5gl was added and alcohol is at 12% abv.

 

Tasted 18:30 Tuesday 28th April 2026 (flower day in the lunar calendar) 

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Glassware: Chef & Sommelier Reveal’Up ‘Intense’

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Appearance: Clear, medium, gold.

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Characteristics: Pronounced intensity with primary aromas of honeysuckle, geranium, lemon blossom, red apple, quince, orange zest, orange juice, pink grapefruit, raspberry, wild strawberry, pineapple, apricot, nectarine, mirabelle plum and roasted pineapple. There are secondary notes of sablé biscuit, chausson-aux-pommes, tarte tartin, toasted brioche, vanilla, cloves, pineapple fudge, toffee apple and charred wood. Tertiary aromas include marmalade, dried apricot, dried apple, marzipan, cinnamon, cobnut, ginger, hay and honey.

Price circa €85.00 (current release 2019)

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Éric is a proud advocate of Meunier and there is no doubt that this previously maligned grape has been rightly growing in popularity in the last decade, thanks largely to domaines such as Éric Taillet who are able to showcase its virtues. Meunier can be brilliant, generous, aromatic and age worthy; in the hands of Éric, it always is.