Champagne Tassin Successeurs in Loches-sur-Ource

Champagne Tassin Successeurs is a family grower-producer in Loches-sur-Ource, in the Côte des Bar. The family traces its winegrowing roots to the late eighteenth century and carries out the full production chain on the estate, from pressing its own grapes to vinification, bottle ageing and disgorgement. That continuity makes Tassin a useful stop for visitors who want to connect vineyard choices with what happens in the cellar.

The family installed its own press in 1929, and Marcel Tassin began making and selling Champagne under his own name. In the early 1980s, Michel and his sister Christine created Tassin Successeurs in Loches-sur-Ource. A new press followed in 2003; Thibault joined in 2015 and developed a reception and tasting space within the vaulted cellars. These milestones explain the working estate rather than serving only as a family chronology.

What makes Tassin Successeurs distinctive?

Tassin is a récoltant-manipulant: it makes Champagne from its own grapes and handles pressing, vinification, ageing on lees and disgorgement on site. The value for a wine-focused visitor is the opportunity to discuss those connected decisions within one estate, without assuming that every production operation will be running during the appointment.

The vineyard story extends across three villages, not just the cellar’s home village. Essoyes is the principal source, with Kimmeridgian subsoil and plantings of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc. The estate still describes Pinot Blanc vines planted by Bernard Tassin in 1954. In Celles-sur-Ource, Fioles supplies Pinot Noir and Dalivard Chardonnay; at Landreville, Pinot Noir from Mobline is used to make red wine for the rosé blend.

Signature style, cellar choices and range

The producer describes picking at optimal maturity, gentle vinification without filtration or cold treatment, and ageing in both tanks and barrels. Bottle ageing in the vaulted cellars adds another variable. These are more useful tasting questions than a simple ranking by price: ask how grape, reserve wine, vessel and time contribute to the texture and balance of the bottle in your glass.

• Brut: the natural starting point, combining Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the three vineyard villages with wines from different years.
• Blanc de Blancs: an all-Chardonnay, multi-year blend, offering a clearer view of the white grape’s floral, peach and citrus side.
• The Pinot Blanc-containing blend: a comparison of old-vine material and three grapes. Ask which current bottling best shows the contribution of Pinot Blanc when arranging a tasting.
• Rosé: made entirely from Pinot Noir, blending red wine from Mobline with white wines made from Pinot Noir across the three crus.

If a barrel-influenced or older bottle is offered, ask which cellar choices distinguish it. The estate’s use of wood does not mean every cuvée is barrel-aged, and a vintage or prestige bottle should not be assumed to be part of the tasting.