We slept in a gîte, a rented appartment belonging to the champagne supplier we visited yesterday, so there’s no breakfast. We don’t mind, we’ve had such copious amounts of food the last days that we’re happy to take a break. We skip breakfast, leave the key in the lock box and set off north.
Champagne is a protected product, meaning only specific areas have the right to label their effervescent wine with the name champagne. Yesterday we picked up our orders in the small and relatively unknown Côtes des Bar area, today we’re driving north towards Reims. We have a tasting planned at eleven, a supplier we’ve known for a while but haven’t visited recently. Since we’re now in the Côte des Blancs, they mainly use the Chardonnay grape typical for this region – blanc refers to the white grape. The vineyards do not cover the entire country side, they’re situated specifically on the steep slopes of the ‘mountain range’ that arcs beneath the town over Épernay. The mountain is only 250 m or so, but the slope affords a better position to catch the sun. Below the slope, on the horizontal parts of the valley, there are the usual agricultural activities, though I wouldn’t recognise wheat from potatoes in this season. Above the slope, covering the ‘head’ of the mountain, are deciduous woods.
As a result, you could be driving through perfectly normal, charming country side and then suddenly come into view of these slopes and have the vineyards spread out before you, just turning yellow and gold for the fall. The harvest of the grapes is in September these days, though fifty years before it used to be in October, so one of the suppliers explains. Due to the hotter springs and summers the ripening of the grape has changed, affecting the way of working the vines, the taste of the champagne and even allowing more production of still wines. We see more and more vineyards in Belgium, even, now that the summers are warm enough to ripen the grapes.
Lunch in La Gare at twelve, we come here every time, it’s good food and in a charming location, a disused railway station. Half of the parking lot is filled with Belgian cars, they’re all here to buy champagne, not so odd when you realise it’s only a three hour drive.
Our next appointment is at a new (for us) supplier, three young siblings who’ve taken over their father’s firm and who’re making champagne that’s certified biodynamic. You can discuss about the sense and nonsense of the biodynamic principles, but they make a great champagne. One of the siblings shows us around, we can see the dégorgement in progress and we talk about how they produce the champagne. They own three horses which they use to work (some of) the vineyards and do a lot of the work manually, instead of automating where possible.
We wrap up, load the boxes into the car and drive northeast, to the Vallée de la Marne. There’s a lot more Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier here, which give different flavours. If you’re into really short explanations, then: Chardonnay gives freshness, Pinot Noir adds body and Pinot Meunier adds fruitiness. Then of course you have the difference in terroir (determined by the location, the plot in the village, which determines the composition of the soil and the angle/orientation of the slope, for example) and in production and aging techniques, so there’s a big variation in the scent and taste.
Interestingly, here in the Champagne the quality designations of Grand Cru and Premier Cru are assigned per village, as opposed to the Bourgogne wines not far from here, where it’s assigned per plot. Doesn’t make much sense to do it per village, I suppose there’s a long and complicated history behind that fact.
For now, all the cartons still fit in the trunk, but we have two more pick-ups tomorrow. By now it’s five or so and the weather is windy and cold. We’re again escaping the worst of the rain, so we decide to do a small detour to the statue of pope Urbain II, who was born here some time in the Middle Ages. It’s on a hilltop on the edge of the Marne valley, in a little park affording great views of the surrounding vineyards. We take a moment to admire it, but quickly get chilled by the wind. We drive back to Épernay, have Burger King for dinner and a relaxed evening with a book.
Febe writes 