It is still not yet possible to write a comprehensive analysis of Champagne terroirs, given the lack of tools and information available compared with other historic regions. However, it is my hope that this book can in some small way help to push the dialogue further toward acknowledging champagne as a terroir-expressive wine, and to provide a foundation for envisioning that."And push us forward is what he did with a new and unconventional schema that he has proposed for the Champagne sub-regions. In this post I examine the broad contours of this new schema and, in subsequent posts, will dig into the details of each sub-region.
The conventional approach shows Champagne's vineyards extending over 4 districts (shown in the map below) and 319 villages. The districts are Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côte des Blancs, and Côte des Bar. Montagne de Reims is a forested plateau south of Reims that is known for rich, full-bodied Champagnes and the dominance of Pinot Noir with some Chardonnay plantings in Trepail and Villers-Marmery. Vallée de la Marne has Epernay as its core as it hugs the banks of the River Marne. This area is best known for Pinot Meunier but Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grow well here also. The soil here is comprised of a limestone topsoil overlaying layers of Belemnite and Micraster chalk. Chardonnay is dominant in the Côte des Blancs and Pinot Noir in the Côte des Bar. The soil in the Côte des Bar is Portlandian cap rock overlaying Kimmeridgian soil, a geologic profile that is much closer to Chablis than to the rest of Champagne.
Source: champagne.fr |
Champagne soil (Source: Fatcork via drinks.seriouseats.com) |
The slow sagging of the Paris Basin caused an upthrusting of ancient geologic formations at the outer perimeter with each formation exhibiting as a concentric, outward-facing escarpment. One such escarpment was the Kimmeridgian chain of Jurassic soils discussed previously. In the case of Champagne, the escarpment is comprised of sands, marls, and lignitic clays of the Tertiary period capping chalk from the upper Cretaceous and, below Chalons, clays and sands of the lower Cretaceous. It is the marriage of the Tertiary and upper Cretaceous strata that "is the parentage of the unique soils of Champagne."
The components of the Tertiary strata function as follows (Wilson):
- Sands -- provide coarse ingredients which help in building good soil structure
- Clays, marls, weathered chalk -- bond with particles to give good body to the soil
- Lignite -- a soft, low-grade coal which "seasons" the soil. Rapid burial resulted in concentration with iron, sulfur, and zinc from plant material.
The soils in the defined Champagne region is not monolithic, however. The Côte de Bars region of Champagne has Kimmeridgian soil of the same construct as the soils that underpin the vineyards of Chablis and Sancerre. In the Aisne region the upper Cretaceous has dipped into the Paris Basin and the soil is comprised entirely of Tertiary clays and sands. In the area below Chalone -- referred to as wet Champagne -- the poor-permeability clays and sands of the lower Cretaceous period are dominant.
The Champagne soils distribution is illustrated graphically below.
(ii) The second area of unconventionality drives from the last point in that the soil combination of Cote de Sezanne differs markedly from the other zones with which it has been combined. In the Champagne region soils map above, the Cote de Sezanne is shown as comprised of tertiary and upper cretaceous deposits while the other partners are sited on lower cretaceous sands and clays.
In his study of these sub-zones, Liem delves into village-level characteristics. I will dig into his work in order to tease out the rationale for his proposed scheme.
©Wine -- Mise en abyme
Incredibly interesting! The book is comprehensive, but I appreciate your summary.
ReplyDeleteThe book is awesome. It is so dense. Thank you.
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