Champagne village profile: Trépail, a Chardonnay-dominated premier cru village in the Grande Montagne de Reims

Key facts

Located in: Montagne & Val de Reims: Grande Montagne de Reims
Vineyards and grape varieties: 277.0 hectares (684.5 acres), of which 90.5% Chardonnay and 9.5% Pinot Noir
Classification: Premier cru (95%)
Noted for: good Chardonnay from southeast- and east-facing slopes

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 indicates other open terrain, and green indicates forest.

Google Maps view with the villages in the Grande Montagne de Reims highlighted. The grand cru villages are in green, the premier cru villages are in yellow, and the autre cru villages in orange. The light green box shows the Perle blanche area.

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

Neighbouring villages

Northeast: Villers-Marmery (premier cru)
East: Billy-le-Grand (premier cru)
Southeast: Vaudemange (premier cru)
Southsouthwest: Ambonnay (grand cru)

The church in Trépail. Picture linked from Wikimedia Commons (photo G.Garitan, 2014).

The village

Trépail is located in the slope of the Montagne de Reims, where the direction has changed from south-facing (as in its neighbour Ambonnay) to be more east-facing. The stream Ruisseau de Trépail runs through the village, and empties into the Aisne-Marne canal at Vaudemange.

The Trépail commune covers a surface of 837 hectares and counts 426 inhabitants (as of 2013), referred to as Trépaillots and Trépaillotes.

Pré en Bulles

The Champagne museet/exhibition Pré en Bulles is located in Trépail.

Part of the exhibition at Pré en Bulles. The little robot is called Créabulle and is the guide of the exhibition. Picture linked from Wikimedia Commons (photo ADT Marne, 2014).

Vineyards

The vineyards in Trépail consist of east- and southeast-facing slopes on the Montagne de Reims and are dominated by Chardonnay. Trépail shares the Chardonnay dominance with three of its neighbouring villages, all of them classified premier cru: Vaudemagne and Billy-le-Grand just below the slope, and Villers-Marmery, located to the north/northeast along the slope. This area is sometimes called the Perle blanche, and Trépail is probably the most well-known village of the area.

The current vineyard surface in the Trépail commune is 277.0 hectares (684.5 acres). There are 250.7 ha Chardonnay (90.5%) and 26.3 ha Pinot Noir (9.5%). Numbers from CIVC, as of 2013. In 1997, the vineyard surface was 271 ha. There are 144 vineyard owners (exploitants) in the commune.

Champagne houses that control vineyards in the village include Pol Roger and Taittinger.

Single vineyard sites

• La Côte des Prés is a site just south of the village, at the Ruisseau de Trépail (a stream) and on its eastern side. David Léclapart usually uses Chardonnay from this site for his L’Artiste.
• Les Neigettes is a site immediately to the northeast of the village with slopes of varying directions, mainly south- and southeast-facing slopes. Arnaud Beaufort produces their Cuvée des Neigettes from this vineyard site.
• Le Pierre Saint-Martin is a mildly southeast-facing site in the upper part of the slope, just northeast of the village. David Léclapart’s L’Apôtre is produced from old vine Chardonnay in this vineyard site.
• La Trottière is a southeast-facing slope just east of the village itself, immediately east of the D26 road (to Villers-Marmery). Fabrice Bertemès uses this site.

Vineyards in Trépail. Picture linked form Wikimedia Commons (photo Havang(nl), 2009).

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.

• Arnaud Beaufort et Fils (RM), has 5.6 ha of vineyards with 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir. The vintage Champagne is 100% Chardonnay. Cuvée des Neigettes is a non-vntage 100% Chardonnay from the single vineyard site Les Neigettes.
• Fabrice Bertemès (RM), member of the Passion Chardonnay group with 4 ha of vineyards in Trépail and Avenay Val-d’Or with 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir. The range includes a vintage blanc de blancs.
• Bernardin & Fils (RM)
• Claude Carré et Fils (RM, Facebook-sida), whose range includes a vintage Champagne from 100% Chardonnay.
• Vincent Carré (RM), has slightly more than 20 ha of vineyards in Trépail and Verzenay, with 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. The vintage Champagne is a 100% Chardonnay. The 2008 vintage has been given the name Cuvée 008. Réserve is an oak barrel-vinified 100% Chardonnay (non-vintage). Vieilles Vignes is composed of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir from old vines, with old-fasihoned string closure. Also produces Champagne under the name:
  • Carré-Guebels
• Coizy Père & Fils (RM), has vineyards in Ambonnay, Verzy, and Trépail. Cuvée des Sacres is oak barrel-vinified. The range includes a vintage Champagne.
• Michel Demière et Fils (RM), also M. Demière et Fils, has 6 ha of vineyards.
• Denis Dupont & Fils (RM)
• Jean-Claude Dupont or J. C. Dupont (RM).
• Fredestel, member of Vignerons Indépendants with 2.98 ha of vineyards, mainly in Trépail. Les Agapes is a partly oak barrel-vinified cuvée of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir. Les Petits Pieds d’Emma is a 100% Chardonnay from old vines. Fredestel has also produced Champagnes for A. Mouchart (a MA = marque d’acheteur, buyer’s brand), a Brussels wine merchant with a long history.
• Gabriel et Fils (RM), whose range includes a vintage Champagne and a still red wine, a Bouzy Rouge.
• Arnaud Guebels (RM), has 6 ha of vineyards.
• Guy Guebels Guichon (RM)
• Alain Guillaume (RM), has vineyards with a large majority of Chardonnay. Cuvée Florès is a vintage blanc de blancs. Emilia is an oak barrel-vinified blanc de blancs.
• Kléber Jacqueminet
• Bruno Lapoulle (RM), has vineyards in Trépail, Sermiers, and Ambonnay with 65% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Meunier, and 15% Pinot Noir.
• David Léclapart (RM), one of the most well-known of the new generation of small growers. This is a small biodynamic producer who bottles his Champagnes without dosage. The top Champagne is called l’Apôtre and originates from a plot of 0.31 ha Chardonnay planted in 1946.
  More on Léclapart in another blog entry.
• Lilor (Facebook page) is run by the Godbillot family and the name derives from the two children Lilou and Loris. Was launched under the Lilor name in 2015.
• Nicolas Machet
• Machet-Griffon
• Georges Mazières (RM), currenly run by Sylvie Gérard-Maizières, who is also behind Pré en Bulles. Has 5.5 ha of vineyards in Trépail and Bouzy.
• Mercier Offret (RM), has 3 ha of vineyards.
• Petiau & Fils (RM), has just over 10 ha of vineyards (included some leased) in Trépail, Ambonnay, and Vaudemange, with 85% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Noir.
• Pascal Redon, has 5.3 ha, all in Trépail, with 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. The vintage Champagnen is composed of 95% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Noir (refers to the 2007 vintage). Cuvée Diaphane is a blanc de blancs which is a one-third oak barrel-vinified.
• Christophe Varlot (RM)
• Varlot-Lenfant (RM)

Comment: the list is probably not complete.

Links

• Wikipedia about this commune in English, in French.
• (The Trépail commune doesn’t have a website.)
• UMC’s new village profile of Trépail.
• UMC’s old village profile of Trépail. (dead link)
• Vineyard map of Trépail at weinlagen-info.de.
• The Swedish version of this post.

© Tomas Eriksson 2014-2016, last updated 2016-07-19