Champagne village profile: Courmas, on top of the Montagne de Reims

Key facts

Located in: Montagne & Val de Reims: Vesle et Ardre
Vineyards och grape varieties: 40.9 hectares (101.1 acres), of which 80% Pinot Meunier, 12% Chardonnay, and 8% Pinot Noir.
Classification: “Autre cru” (87%)

Maps

The map is linked from Wikimedia Commons, and the geographical information originates from OpenStreetMap. The dotted white area corresponds to the vineyards, light yellow is other open terrain, and green indicates forest.

Google Maps view with the villages in the Vesle et Ardre highlighted. The premier cru villages are in yellow and the autre cru villages are in orange. The La Petite Montagne de Reims part is shown within red borders and the Vallée de la Vesle part within green borders.

Clicking on a village opens a field to the left with a link to the village profile.

Neighbouring villages

Northwest: Bouilly
Northeast: Ville-Dommange (premier cru)
East: Sacy (premier cru)
Southsouthwesy: Marfaux
Westsouthwest: Chaumuzy

Courmas with vineyards in the background. Picture linked from Wikimedia Commons (photo Standecourmas, 2008).

The village

Courmas is located on top of the Montagne de Reims hill, along the small stream Noron that also runs through the village Bouilly and that finally empties into the Ardre river just downstream from the village Poilly.

The Courmas commune covers 287 hectares and has 190 inhabitants (as of 2013) called Courmassiens and Courmassiennes.

A field cross in a vineyard of Courmas. Picture linked from Wikimedia Commons (photo G.Garitan, 2013).

Vineyards

The vineyards in the Courmas comune are located directly at the village itself and consist of mild slopes dominated by Pinot Meunier.

The current vineyard surface in the Courmas commune is 40.9 hectares (101.1 acres). There are 32.7 ha Pinot Meunier (79.8%), 4.8 ha Chardonnay (11.8%), and 3.4 ha Pinot Noir (8.4%). Numbers from CIVC, as of 2013. In 1997, the vineyard surface was also 41 ha. There are 28 vineyard owners (exploitants) in the commune.

Single vineyard sites

• Sous les Roses, a vineyard site to the west of the village. Yann Alexandre produces a vineyard-designated Champagne from this site, composed of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Champagne producers

Champagne growers

Producer status is indicated where known: RM = récoltant-manipulant, or grower-producers. RC = récoltant-coopérateur, growers that are cooperative members but sell Champagnes under their own name.

• Xavier Alexandre (RM), has 7 ha of vineyards in nine villages including the four premier cru villages Champillon, Coulommes-la-Montagne, Ville-Dommange, and Vrigny. Some of the Champagnes are partly oak barrel-vinified. The range includes two vintage Champagnes, a vintage blanc de blancs and Signature A, which is composed of 50% Chardonnay, 27% Pinot Noir, and 23% Pinot Meunier (refers to the 2004 vintage) and is fully vinified in oak barrels. Vintage Collector is a blend of 32 vintages from 1966 to 2009. Their red Coteaux Champenois is composed of 90% Pinot Meunier and 10% Pinot Noir.
• Yann Alexandre (RM), member of Vignerons Indépendants. Has a bit more than  6 ha of vineyards in nine communes, with 45% Pinot Meunier, 35% Chardonnay, and 20% Pinot Noir. Some of the Champagnes are partly oak barrel-vinified. The range includes two vintage Champagnes, a vintage blanc de blancs and a vintage Champagne composed of a majority of Chardonnay, one-third Pinot Noir, and a smaller proportion of Pinot Meunier,  and is fully vinified in oak barrels. Sous les Roses is a vineyard-designated Champagne from a vineyard site in Courmas, and is a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (no vintage designation). Vinothèque is a blend of 32 vintages from 1966 to 2009. Terre de Clos is a red Coteaux Champenois consisting of Pinot Noir from a vineyard site with this name in Marfaux.
• Auguste-Rauot (RC)
• Auguste-Serrurier (RC) has 7 ha of vineyards in Courmas, Ville-Dommange, Jouy-lès-Reims, Pargny-lès-Reims, Coulommes-la-Montagne, Sermiers, Brouillet, and Chenay (in the Massif de Saint-Thierry) with 60% Pinot Meunier, 20% Chardonnay, and 20% Pinot Noir. The cellar is located in Ville-Dommange, but the business address is Courmas. The vintage Champagne is called Cuvée AS and is a blend of the three grape varieties.
• J.P. Bourbonnois (RC)
• Jean-Bernard Bourgeois (RC), has vineyards in Courmas, Coulommes-la-Montagne, and Jouy-lès-Reims with a majority of Pinot Meunier. Annyal production is about 30 000 bottles. The range includes a vintage Champagne.
• Jean Fournier (RM)
• P. Minard (RM) alternatively Patrick Minard or just Minard, has 4 ha of vineyards in Coulommes-la-Montagne and Courmas with 70% Pinot Meunier, 25% Chardonnay, and 5% Pinot Noir. Annual production is 25 000-30 000 bottles.
• Simon Rion (RC), has 2.15 ha of vineyards in Courmas, of which 1.2 ha Pinot Meunier, 0.85 ha Pinot Noir, and 0.1 ha Chardonnay.
• Vrain-Augé (RM)

Comment: It is not certain that the list is complete.

Cooperative

When bottles are sold directly by a cooperative the producer status is given as CM = coopérative de manipulation, as opposed to RC when sold by a cooperative member under their own name.

• Coopérative Vinicole de Courmas, doesn’t seem to have a website. Founded in 1961.

The town hall (mairie) of Courmas. Picture linked from Wikimedia Commons (photo G.Garitan, 2013).

Links

• Wikipedia about this village in English, in French.
• (The Courmas commune doesn’t have a website.)
• UMC’s new village profile of Courmas.
• UMC’s old village profile of Courmas. (dead link)
• The Swedish version of this post.

© Tomas Eriksson 2014-2016, last update 2016-05-05