Jeaunaux-Robin Champagne Le Talus de Saint Prix Extra Brut NV

This week we leave behind the familiar world of Vouvray and Montlouis-sur-Loire and instead look to a less familiar source of sparkling wines, the little-known riverside settlement of Talus-Saint-Prix. Although, while the name of this village might be new to you, I am sure its appellation will not, even if it is rare for it to appear on these pages; six years since I last featured an example in my Weekend Wine slot, this week we are heading back to Champagne.

Talus-Saint-Prix sits on the southern side of the great expanse of vineyards around Reims and Épernay, a small collection of houses and agricultural buildings behind which there rises a wave of vines on the Coteaux du Petit Morin, a south-facing slope which looks down onto the Petit Morin, a tributary of the Marne. This diminutive waterway, perhaps comparable in stature to the Aubance, has played a significant part in the region’s development, as it is its flow that has created these slopes.

The river is thus vital, but it also causes problems; as the waters flow westwards from its source, the lakes and marshes of the Marais de Saint Gond, they bring cool air and mist, and as a consequence these slopes can be prone to frost. For this reason the viticulteurs of Talus-Saint-Prix have long favoured planting the later-budding and thus more frost-hardy Pinot Meunier ahead of other Champagne cultivars. And this certainly comes through in the portfolio of wines on offer from Jeaunaux-Robin, including this week’s choice, the blends dominated by this variety.

The Jeaunaux-Robin domaine was established by Georges and Paulette Jeaunaux in the early 1950s, and in 1961 they were joined by their son Michel Jeaunaux and his wife Marie-Claude Robin. At this stage the grapes went to the local co-operative, but things got more serious when the family installed their own Coquard wine press in 1971. Although a major investment, having their own basket press meant they could begin processing the fruit themselves; fermentation vats were installed, and contracts with the local co-operative were brought to an end. By 1976 the family were releasing wines under their own name.

Since then the domaine has further developed, with more vines acquired, and in 1986 the construction of large subterranean cellars. In 1999 Michel and Marie-Claude were then joined by the third generation, Cyril and his wife Clémence, and it is they who now run the domaine. Of the 39 hectares of vines on the slopes behind the village, the family tend 4.5 hectares, although with a couple of more distant parcels also in their possession they currently work about 6 hectares all told. This rather bijou Champagne domaine works organically, following certification by Ecocert in 2018, with a sprinkling of biodynamic fairy dust added for good measure.

Despite their small scale Cyril and Clémence produce a broad range of wines, often in very limited volumes. There are many reasons to like the wines; the idiosyncratic blends, a restrained approach to dosage, and information-rich labels which should keep any Champagne geek happy. Not to mention the quality of what is in the glass.

The cuvée Le Talus de Saint Prix Extra Brut comes exclusively from the vines of the Coteaux du Petit Morin, which is covered with soils of clay and flints known as meulières or millstones, principally because large examples were often shaped and put to use as the grinding stones in water and windmills. The blend is 60% Pinot Meunier, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay, from vines aged 45 years on average. The wine featured here is based on the 2020 vintage, I suspect blended with some 2019; in their search for freshness, probably to counter the Pinot Meunier richness, Cyril and Clémence favour younger blends rather than using lots of old reserve wines. The first fermentations were 25% in barrel, 75% in cuve, with no encouragement of the malolactic fermentation. The prise de mousse presumably followed in early 2021, and the wine was disgorged in January 2024, topped up with a dosage of 5.5 g/l sugar, yielding an Extra Brut style (you can see what I mean when I said the labels were “information-rich”).

In the glass the non-vintage Champagne Le Talus de Saint Prix Extra Brut from Jeaunaux-Robin wears a slightly peachy-pink hue which surely reflects the dominance of Pinot in the blend, Noir and Meunier combined accounting for 90% of the assemblage, and it carries a fine bead. The aromatics feel bright and expressive, and despite Pinot Meunier taking the lead role the nose opens with some fresh citrus notes, with a toasty backdrop, which then parts to reveal layers of white peach, red apple and aniseed. This is reflected onto the palate, which evolves a more Pinot character, as it carries notes of redcurrant, orange and peach, which envelope bitter and pithy complexities of orange zest and white pepper. This comes supported by bright acidity and a vivacious mousse, which lift the fruit into the finish. All in all this is a very enjoyable Champagne, a wine of body and richness, which suggests Champagne drinkers who ignore this distant corner of the region, and its rich plantings of Pinot Meunier, to so to their detriment. The alcohol on the label is 12%. 92/100 (17/2/25)

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