Montaigne de Reims: Selected Premier Cru sites

Explicit in Peter Liem's Champagne is the idea that the important terroirs in Champagne's  Montagne de Reims subregion are Grande Montagne, Petite Montagne, and Massif de St. Thiery. I have described the Grand Cru sites of the Grande Montagne in a prior post. Herein I present the Premier Cru sites of Grand and Petite Montagnes as well as important villages of Massif de St. Thiery.

Massif de St Thierry

The 17 villages located in Massif de St. Thierry are beautifully framed by surrounding vineyards and forests. The region's vinous history stretches back to the 11th century when the renown of the wines from the Abbey resulted in the  awarding of a Champagne appellation: the wines of the Montagne de Saint-Thierry. Phylloxera and two World Wars significantly reduced the size of the vineyard but it has rebounded to today's 1001.9 ha. Pinot Meunier (54.31%), Pinot Noir (28.64%), and Chardonnay (16.85%) are the region's staples.

Vineyards of Massif de St Thierry (Source: massif-saint-

thierry.com)

The most important of these villages is Merfy whose vineyards extend over 45.6 ha and rest on soils comprised of clay, sand, and sandstone over chalk. The vineyard slopes are mild with varying exposures. The Merfy village outline is shown in the picture below while the vineyard plots are shown immediately after.

The Merfy vineyards are outlined in red above

Merfy vineyard parcels

Grande and Petite Montagnes
Montagne de Reims is more of a wide plateau than a mountain as its horseshoe shape -- open to the west -- is only 293 m (940 feet) at its highest point. The plateau is mostly covered with thick forests with vineyards occupying the flanks and, depending on their position on the horseshoe, having exposures ranging between northwest and south.

Grande Montagne occupies the northern, eastern, and southern slopes of the horseshoe while Petite Montagne, a lower slope, occupies a northwesterly offshoot. Petite Montagne is 30-ha in size and is one of the two primary homes of Pinot Meunier in Champagne (the other being Vallée de la Marne). The distribution of varieties in the sub-zone is 50% Pinot Meunier, 35% Pinot Noir, and the remainder Chardonnay.

Premier Cru sites can be found at all exposures on the "mountain" as pictured on the map below and  detailed in the table following.

Source: wineroutesfrance.com

Table 1. Premier Cru villages on the Grande Montagne

Village	Description	Soil	Lieux-dits
Tauxières	-          Pinot Noir 80 – 90% of plantings -          On north bank of the Marne	-          10 inches of topsoil above a very dry chalk -          Less warm and more cold wind than Bouzy so takes longer to ripen
Trépail	-          Planted almost entirely with Chardonnay -          Separated from Villers-Marmery by a thick band of forest -          True mountain wine but with a specific chalk-driven tension and intense minerality -          Cold and high in elevation. Prone to mildew	-          Chalky terroir yields wines that are racy and austere -          15 – 30 inches of topsoil above chalky bedrock (deeper towards the northern side of the village
Villers-Marmery	-          Chardonnays that are primarily used in blends		-          Champs d’Enfer – stony, chalky area on the south side of village -          Brocot – deeper soils -          Les Alouettes-Saint-Belzs – warm vineyard with a lot of chalk and little topsoil
Ludes	Four distinct sectors: -          Cran de Ludes -          Area around the village -          Area around La Grosse Pierre -          At the limit of the Ludes boundary	-          Cran de Ludes has very little topsoil, a thin layer of clay then chalk -          Area around village does not have a lot of topsoil and wines close ones palate -          Further down the slope has more clay and sand -          Limit of the Ludes boundary	-          Les Beaux Regards -          La Grosse Pierre -          Les Monts Fournois
Chigny-les-Roses	-          131.9 ha -          58% PM, 24% PN, 18% Chardonnay		-          Le Clos des Pêcherines -          Clos du Moulins -          Les Pêcherines
Rilly-La-Montagne	-          312 ha -          38.9% PN, 36.6% PM, 24% Chardonnay		-          Le Bas Clos -          Les Bas Moutions -          Les Clos -          Les Clos Dérard -          Les Clos de Prés -          Les Clos Saint Paul -          Les Clos Yons

Table constructed with information gleaned from Peter Liem's Champagne and winetomas.wordpress.com, North-facing; East-facing; South-facing

Petite Montagne

The villages of Gueux, Écueil, and Vrigny are of importance in this sub-zone.

Gueux, according to Walters, is located on the northern edge of the Petite Montagne zone. Its soil is a mix of sand, calcareous elements, and tiny marine fossils which date to 45 million years ago. According to winetomas.wordpress.com, the vineyards of this village cover 19.8 ha (489 acres) and is distributed between Pinot Meunier (84.5%), Pinot Noir (11.7%), and Chardonnay (3.8%). Jérôme Prévost is a producer of note in this village.

The villages of Écueil and Vrigny are both east-facing slopes with the former's clay, limestone, and chalk soil (akin to Burgundy) rendering it suitable for Pinot Noir. Most of the other villages in this sub-zone lie on sandy soils which are more suited to Pinot Meunier production. Écueil is 144.9 ha in size of which 76.3% is dedicated to Pinot Noir, 11.8% to Chardonnay, and 11.9% to Pinot Meunier. Sand on the lower slopes act as a foil to phylloxera and some ungrafted vines are planted here. Les Chaillots and Les Gilles are noted lieux-dits in this village. Producers of note in this village are Frédéric Savart and Nicolas Maillart.

Vrigny is 90.7 ha in size with 71.7% planted to Pinot Meunier, 19.5% Pinot Noir, and 9.3% Chardonnay. The slopes in this village are gentle, with varying exposures, and the soils are limestone and calcareous clay. Important lieux-dits are Les Champs de Vallier, Les Clos, Les Linguets, and Les Près, the latter of which rests on deep, fossil-bearing soils. Notable producers are Egly-Ouriet and Roger Coulon.

This submittal completes the review of the Montagne de Reims sub-region of Champagne. See here for a review of the Grand Cru vineyards.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Montagne de Reims and its Grand Cru vineyards (after Peter Liem)

In his best-selling book Champagne, Peter Liem states that the 20 or so subregions into which the Comité Champagne divides the appellation "... is useful but perhaps a little too granular for most people's needs." He reduces this granularity to the seven subregions that I graphically illustrated in a recent post. In that post I promised to delve into Liem's subregions and began with a look at the Côte des Blancs. I continue herein with the Montaigne de Reims.

The Unions des Maisons de Champagne (UMC) divides its Montaigne de Reims subregion into four subzones:

• Grande Montagne Reims
• Massif de St. Thiery
• Monts de Berru
• Reims: Vesle & Ardre

Montagne de Reims is a forested plateau south of Reims that is known for rich, full-bodied Champagnes and the dominance of Pinot Noir. According to maisons-champagnes.com, the subregion is comprised of 94 villages, stretches over 7989.30 ha, and has a variety distribution as follows: Pinot Noir, 40.32%;  Pinot Meunier, 33.59%; and Chardonnay, 26%. The map associated with this characterization of the region is shown below.

Modification of a map secured from cambridgewineblogger
.blogspot.com

It should be noted that maisons-champagnes.com combines Petite Montagne, Vesla, and Ardre (shown separately in the map above) into a single subzone called Vesle & Ardre.

In his graphical representation of Montagne de Reims, Liem divides the villages into two buckets: West and North (to include all the villages located outside of the Grande Montagne subzone); and Grande Montagne. In his description of the wines and terroir, however, he does distinguish between Grande and Petite Montagne. Liem does not spill any ink on the villages falling into the maisons-champagnes.com Monts de Berru and Vesle & Ardre (beyond Petite Montagne) subzones.

Montagne de Reims is more of a wide plateau than a mountain as its horseshoe shape -- open to the west -- is only 293 m (940 feet) at its highest point. The plateau is mostly covered with thick forests with vineyards occupying the flanks and, depending on their position on the horseshoe, having exposures ranging between northwest and south. Grande Montagne occupies the northern, eastern, and southern slopes of the horseshoe while Petite Montagne, a lower slope, occupies a northwesterly offshoot.

Grand Cru sites are located on south and north exposures while Premier Cru sites can be found at all exposures. The Grand Cru sites are pictured on the map below and described in detail in the table following.

Source: wineroutesfrance.com

Table 1. The Grand Crus of Grande Montagne.

Village	Description	Soil	Lieux-dits
Tours-sur-Marne	-          Most southerly of the Grande Montagne Villages -          On north bank of the Marne -          Newcomer (1955) to grapegrowing -          Terroir produces combination of mountain (more rigidly structured) and river wines
Bouzy	-          Ranks among the greatest terroirs of Champagne -          Among warmest terroirs of this subzone -          True mountain wine	-          Bedrock of hard chalk -          Some parts of topsoil at 50 cm -          A 3-m-deep layer of sedimentary soil runs through center of village – ideal for Pinot Noir
Ambonnay	-          Among greatest terroirs of Champagne -          Portion of vineyard faces SE (Tempers ripeness, resulting in wines more delicate than Bouzy) -          Three rolling hills provides wider variety of sun exposure than experienced in Bouzy	-          Chalky terroir -          Soil poor near Bouzy -          Deeper alluvial soil at the base of the slope in the eastern portion -          Thinner closer to Trépail -          More calcareous soil exposed in SE vineyards 9ideal for Chardonnay) -          Deep topsoils below the village	-          Les Crayères – chalky vineyard on east side of village -          Les Bermonds -          La Grande Ruelle -          Le Bout de Clos -          Le Parc – thick layers of tufa above the chalk -          Clos d’Ambonnay – notably calcareous soils (structure, complexity, salinity)
Verzennay	-          418 ha (1033 acres) -          Pinot Noir darker than in south-facing villages (distinctive gaminess and metallic, iron-like undertone	-          Well-drained soils -          Some clay-heavy parcels, some chalk-heavy parcels -          Clay seems deeper
Sillery	-          Located on the flatter land below the slope (other side of A4) -          92 ha (227 acres) -          Mild, NE-facing slopes in southern part of village		-          La Loge -          Les Blauer Germains -          Les Champs de Romont (southern part of village)
Mailly-Champagne	-          Westernmost Grand Cru in northern Montagne de Reims -          Classified Grand Cru in 1920 -          70 ha (123 acres) -          Strong, 80-member Coop operates herein -          35 lieux-dits -          400 parcels of Pinot Noir (89%) and Chardonnay -          Pinot Noir not as powerful and vinous as is the case for south-facing slopes -          Among the last subzones in Champagne to be harvested (difficulty ripening)	Varied terroir with chalk subsoil	-          Les Baraqumes – cooler site producing structured, spicy PN -          Les Godats and Les Coutures – further downm the slope; fatter and warmer -          Les Cotes – Southern side of the chalky ridge so more exposure than the preceding

Data sources: Peter Liem, Champagne, winetomas.wordpress.com. South-facing. North-facing

The Premier Cru vineyards and the remaining subzones of the Montagne de Reims will, in a subsequent post, round out the discussion of the region.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Champagne wine region: Terroir and viticulture

Almost like no other, the word Champagne resonates with both the drinker and non-drinker; with the casual drinker and the celebrant; and, especially, with lovers of the finest vintage cuvées of the Champagne Houses, produced, as they are, in only high-quality years.  Champagne is the foremost sparkling wine in the world and has come to be, moreover, one of the defining markers of luxury.  Sparkling wines are made the world over but only sparkling wines made from grapes grown in legally defined areas in Champagne, and constructed using the rigidly defined methodé champenoise, can be called Champagne.  I will explore the path taken to construct this temple of luxury and pleasure beginning with this post on the terroir and viticulture of its home region.

Champagne (translates to "open countryside") is located 160 kilometers east of Paris and, at 49º N latitude, its northern portions are at the northern edge of the world's wine-growing regions.

The formulation of the Champagne region was a two-step process beginning with a 1908 decree delimiting the area within which the wine could be produced and culminating with a 1927 law which specified: the limits of the wine-growing region; grape cultivation, pruning and harvesting; and the fermentation method in the bottle.

Located as far north as it is, Champagne has the lowest average temperature of any French wine-growing region and, consequently, grapes do not ripen adequately over the course of a growing season.  The northernmost outposts of the region are about 290 kilometers from the English Channel and are subject to oceanic influences.  These areas experience regular rainfall but very little variation in temperature from season to season.  As the traveler journeys south, however, continental climatic influences come into play to include: winter and spring frosts; summer sunshine coupled with violent thunderstorms; cold, wet weather in June; and hailstorms.  Mean rainfall in the region is 700 mm.

The soil in Champagne is composed of massive chalk deposits interspersed with rocky outcroppings and covered with a thin layer of topsoil.  The chalk deposits in Champagne are finer-grained and more porous than other French limestone soils -- and have extremely high concentrations of the mineral marls Belemnite (younger and found higher up on the growing slopes) and Micraster (older and located on the valley floors) -- while the rocky outcroppings are 75% limestone plus chalk and marl.  Chalk has excellent drainage as well as water-retention properties in that its micro-pores can absorb water during wet periods and slowly release it during drier periods.  In addition chalk will also reflect sunlight and heat thus aiding in the ripening of the grapes (Click here for a fuller description of Champagne's soils).

There are 34,00 hectares of vineyards in Champagne, 3.4% of France's vineyard total.  The Champagne vineyards are worked by 15,000 growers (an average of 2 ha per grower), 150 cooperatives, and 300 Champagne Houses.  Growers own 90% of the vineyards but sell most of their production to Champagne Houses.  The Champagne Houses own 10% of the vineyards but account for 69% of Champagne shipments (champagne.fr).

Champagne's vineyards extend over 5 districts (shown in the map below) and 319 villages.  The districts are Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côte des Blancs, Côte des Bar, and Aube.   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

The best Champagne vineyards are planted on slopes at elevations falling between 90 and 200 meters.  Such locations situate the vineyard high enough to be clear of the frost and low enough to avoid extreme weather.  This siting also places these vineyards smack dab in the middle of the Belemnite formations that are slope-located.  The vineyards are predominantly located on south-, east-, and southeast-facing slopes which average 12% but can be as high as 60% in areas.

Unlike the Burgundy wine region, the Grand/Premier Cru designation for a vineyard is not necessarily an indication of a vineyard's quality.  Rather, the designation -- Échelle des crus (ladder of growths) -- is an index of price based on the quality of grapes from classified vineyards.  Grapes from Deuxieme Cru vineyards can be assigned scores of between 80% and 89%, grapes from Premier Cru vineyards can be assigned scores between 90% and 99%, while Grand Cru grapes are assigned scores of 100%. As formulated, the score that a grape-lot is assigned within a specific season is an indication of the price that the Champagne House is willing to pay in relation to the pricing for Grand Cru grapes in the season.  The Champagne vineyards with Grand Cru designation are shown in the table below.

The allowed vineyard pruning methods are specified in the Champagne AOC requirements.  The allowed methods, along with their characteristics, are presented in the table below.

Source: Compiled from Michael Edwards, The Finest Wines of Champagne (University of CA Press) and champagnegallery.com.au

The dominant grapes used in Champagne are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier.  After many years of testing, these grapes have been shown to best provide the needed inputs for quality Champagne: (i) a good balance of sugar and acid; (ii) rich, subtle taste, and (iii) an affinity for bubbles.  In addition to these three, Champagne can also include Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Arbane.  These are rarely used and only in small quantities.

My next post on Champagne will cover viniculture and maturation.

© Wine -- Mise en abyme