The Soirée Hiver cuvée from the Aube, crafted by Thibault Tassin, is a champagne born from the blending of two unclassified villages of the Côte des Bar. Essoyes and Celles-sur-Ource give it an identity all of its own, unique to this corner of the Aube.
This is a cuvée built around notes of red fruit and spice, lifted by a touch of oak. The wine-like, mineral texture stays fresh and crisp on the palate.
This is a bottle you can pour from the first aperitif, alongside Comté Gougères for example, before bringing it to the table with Roast Free-Range Chicken. Only 6,195 bottles of this cuvée were produced.
The Terroir
The Cuvée Soirée Hiver, 2022 harvest, is a Blanc de Noirs, meaning it is made entirely from Pinot Noir.
These Pinot Noir grapes come from the terroirs of Essoyes and Celles-sur-Ource, two unclassified villages on the Côte des Bar where Thibault Tassin tends his vines. This area, further south than the historic heart of Champagne, enjoys generous sunshine that pushes the grapes towards fine ripeness (the fruit has time to build up natural sugar before harvest). This ripeness shows directly in the glass through a generous texture and a golden hue with copper glints, far from the austere pallor found in other parts of Champagne.
On this terroir, Pinot Noir gives the wine a broad, fleshy texture, carried by a freshness that balances its natural generosity.
Organic farming guarantees the absence of synthetic pesticides and herbicides across the plots.
Winemaking
Thibault Tassin, the winemaker at the helm of the estate, chose to ferment this Pinot Noir in oak barrel, a vessel that lets the wine breathe gently. This time in wood brings discreet toasty, woody notes that settle on the back palate without overpowering the fruit. The choice of barrel also gives the wine more body, a denser texture than that achieved in tank, and brings about an almost creamy mouthfeel.
At Thibault Tassin, no sugar is added at bottling: the cuvée falls into the Brut Nature category, the driest style that exists in champagne. This absence of dosage lets the wine speak for itself, without artifice, revealing a taut palate carried by a crisp, direct freshness that echoes the purity of the original fruit.
A Non-Vintage Cuvée
2022 stands out as a generous, particularly sun-drenched vintage in the Aube. A dry spring kept vine diseases at bay, and the summer saw several heat peaks without compromising the health of the grapes right up to harvest.
On the Kimmeridgian soils of Essoyes and Celles-sur-Ource, Pinot Noir reached high sugar concentrations. This sun-driven ripeness translates on the palate into a fleshy texture and pronounced roundness, kept in check by the wine's freshness.
Harvest began in late August in this southern sector of Champagne. Hand-sorting removed any unwanted bunches, and yields stayed within the appellation's regulations. The absence of late frost safeguarded the volumes of this harvest.
