Champagne: The growing enviroment

Question 1

Champagne: Location and topography

Location

Answer 1

• North-East France
• Just south of the 50th parallel
• east of Paris
• Large region that extends 150km from north to south / 120km from east to west
• Nearly 35000 hectares of vineyards

Question 2

Champagne: Location and topography

Champagne subregions

Answer 2

5 subregions:
- Montagne de Reims
- Vallée de la Marne
- Côte de Blancs
- Côte de Sézanne (south of Cote de Blancs)
- Côte de Bar (100km south, closer to Chablis than Epernay)

Question 3

Champagne: Location and topography

Champagne climate

Answer 3

• Cool continental
• Oceanic influence
• 700mm rain per year (spread throughout the year)
• rain during flowering and fruit set csan reduce yealds / spread disease and dilution of the crop if during harvest
• low avarage annual temperature of 11C (ideal for low-alcohol + high acidity base wines)
• Harvest date moved forward of 18 days due to warming up of the climate in the last 30 years (acidity dropped + potential alcohol has risen of 0.7%abv) = more consistent production and fewer poor vintages

Question 4

Champagne: Location and topography

Topography and soils

Answer 4

• Paris basin = old seabed = Thick layer of chalk
• Chalky hillsides of Champagne in the northern part of the region = ideal for growing high-quality grapes to make base wines (particularly Chardonnay)
• Chalk solis +limestone and chalk subsoils
• Chalk = highly porous = stores water, providing a steady supply of water in dry periods
• 90-300m above sea level
• well-drained soils + planting on slopes = avoid water logging

Question 5

Champagne 5 main sub-regions

Montagne de Reims

Answer 5

• Known for it’s black grapes / also some important Chardonnay vineyards
• Gran Cru villages: Mailly, Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay, Bouzy
• Wide plateau
• Some top villages face north = excellent cool-climates sites (though more prone to frost)
• high acidity wines / austere in youth
• Varied soil types / Chalky soils in Gran Cru vineyards

Question 6

Champagne 5 main sub-regions

Vallée de la Marne

Answer 6

• Major plantings west of Epernay: Meunier on clay, marl and sandy soils = fruity wines
• Meunier = late budding + early ripening (than PN and Chardonnay) = well-adapted to this frost-prone valley
• Chardonnay grown for blends for early drinking-wines
• Grand Cru village: Aÿ

Question 7

Champagne 5 main sub-regions

Côte de Blancs

Answer 7

• south of Epernay
• almost exclusively devoted to white grapes: 95% Chardonnay
• purest form of chalk (Excellent balance between water retention and drainage)
• Gran Cru villages: Cramant, Avize, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
• Great intensity and longevity wines / austere in youth

Question 8

Champagne 5 main sub-regions

Côte de Sézanne

Answer 8

• continuation of Côte de Blancs
  mostly clay and clay-silt soils / some pockets of chalk
• mostly chardonnay on warmer south-facing slopes = fruitier, riper grapes
• quality rated lower then other subregions

Question 9

Champagne 5 main sub-regions

Côte de Bar

Answer 9

• Large area in the southern part of Champagne
• Mainly planted with Pinot Noir
• Kimmeridgian calcareous marl (same as CHablis and Sancerre)
• Steep slopes + stony limestone = excellent drainage = Pinot Noir ripens well
• Important source of ripe PN for non-vintage blends