CHAMPAGNE OR CHABLIS?
Many people think of Champagne as just one region and of course that’s perfectly true. However within Champagne there are 4 major sub-regions and as many as 20 even smaller areas each with its own characteristics
Three of these main sub-regions are quite well know. There’s La Montagne de Reims area (near the city of the same name) and it’s here that one finds what are generally regarded as the finest Pinot Noir grapes that bring body and power to a blend.
Then to the south of Epernay there’s La Côte des Blancs where Chardonnay reigns supreme and thirdly La Vallée de La Marne, stretching west from Epernay, which is home to the fruity and easy-drinking Pinot Meunier.
However, south of Reims and Epernay and separated from them by 100 miles or more of flat, arable farming land, there is a fourth important area of vineyard called La Côte des Bars and the champagne producers from this region are slowly, but surely, taking their place in the centre of the stage.
It hasn’t always been this way however. Back at the start of the 1900s when the first rules and regulations governing champagne were being put in place, La Côte des Bars, or the Aube as it is sometimes called, was excluded from the area which qualified as suitable for growing grapes to make champagne. This was partly because of the considerable distance between the Aube and the more famous and prestigious vineyards to the north and partly because of snobbery, but also because of the difference of the sub-soil between north and south. In and around Epernay it is predominantly chalk, particularly in La Côte des Blancs where, in places, the chalk is practically on the surface. On the other hand, down in the Côte des Bars it’s Kimmeridgian marl capped by Portlandian limestone. That’s exactly the same as in Chablis.
Add to this the fact that the vineyards in Côte des Bars are nearer to Dijon than to Reims and it is perhaps not surprising that there was some resistance to the idea of the Aube being part of Champagne.
THREE AREAS IN ONE
Be that as it may, that debate lies many years in the past and it is a much more worthwhile exercise to look at more recent history.
The Côte des Bars actually comprises three separate areas and we may as well start with the exception that proves the rule. First there is the tiny community of Montgueux right next to the historic town of Troyes. Montgueux is little more than an isolated outcrop and here Chardonnay does particularly well. The slopes are south facing and warm producing flavours that are fuller and richer than the more pure and more mineral Chardonnays found in La Côte des Blancs further north.
The other two areas in La Côte des Bars are Le Barséquanais, centred on the town of Bar-sur-Seine, and Le Bar-sur-Aubois, centered on the similar-sounding town of Bar-sur-Aube. The two areas account for nearly 7,000 hectares of vineyard – roughly 20% of the entire Champagne region – and Pinot Noir is the dominant grape variety representing some 85% + of planting ( the encépagement in French).
As you might guess from the fact that the two main towns are on quite large rivers, the Seine and the Aube, the surrounding countryside is riven with streams and rivulets that feed into the bigger rivers. This has given rise to a landscape that is undulating and criss-crossed with fairly open vales and gently sloping vineyards that can capture all the warmth of the sun. The wines that come from these slopes are soft and light on the palate which makes them not only excessively easy to drink but also highly sought after by the big brands to complement their blends, not least because the asking price for grapes from La Côte des Bars has always been lower than for grapes from, for example, La Montagne de Reims
In the past that attitude has pretty much summed up La Côte des Bars: pleasant and cheap, but all that is beginning to change. For one thing the plantings done over the past few decades are beginning to produce some lovely, aged vines which is raising the level of quality of the champagnes produced from them. For another, there are an increasing number of young champagne makers anxious to make a name for themselves who are perhaps less hidebound than their forebears by the traditions that can sometimes be so rigid in Champagne, and who are producing some champagnes that are well worth you seeking out.
WHERE TO BEGIN?
Here are a few names worth trying, although, as ever, the best solution is to try new ones for yourself and make your own mind up. That way is more fun too!
In La Barséquenais
Jérôme Coessens of Champagne Coessens in the village of Ville-sur-Arce is nothing if not focussed. He cultivates just one single plot of vineyard ( called Larguilier) on one hillside, in one village and grows only one grape variety: Pinot Noir. He has gone to almost obsessive lengths to analyse the differences in the soil across the various parts of his one plot and thanks to this dedication and his considerable skill as a wine maker, has created a range of 5 distinct styles.
If you really want to dig into the meaning of terroir and get a sense of why the champenois are so attached to their land, then tasting these champagnes is a great way to do just that.
Also in Ville-sur-Arce and also a specialist in Pinot Noir ( well that makes sense to me if Pinot Noir grows well there), Sylvère and his son Cédric have a larger property than Coessens and work over 40 different plots of vines to produce a range of 7 different cuvés. They are all interesting but I don’t think you can do better than their Tradition which is a full-flavoured, yet elegant non-vintage Blanc de Noirs with a high proportion of reserve wines to make it even more smooth and round
In the Bar-sur-Aubois
I know that a nice history on its own doesn’t make for a great champagne, but I do like the fact that one of Colette Falmet’s ancestors was a key mover and shaker back in 1911 when the vignerons in the Aube were demonstrating – in fact it was more like a rebellion if the truth be told – to get their region recognised as part of Champagne.
These days Michel Falmet cultivate just 3.4 hectares and produce just 25,000 bottles per year, but they have big ambitions. The production facilities are state-of-the art and the attention to detail is amazing.
Their Perle de Noirs, another blanc de noirs, is worth the money in anybody’s book
Others of note
Champagne Jacques Lassaigne in Montgueux.
Chardonnays of distinction
Champagne Fleury in Courteron.
The first ( 1979) producer in Champagne to convert to bio-dynamics. Now a substantial player with 15 hectares under production.
Champagne Olivier Horiot in Les Riceys.
A selection of still champagne wines plus a range of Pinot Noir based champagnes, but also experimenting with Pinot Blanc and Arbanne.
I hope that gives you some ideas for Christmas and New Year drinking.
Until the next time
Jiles
