Key facts
Located in: Montagne & Val de Reims: Grande Montagne de Reims
Vineyards and grape varieties: 133.6 hectares (330.1 acres), of which 51.9% Pinot Meunier, 30.5% Pinot Noir, and 17.6% Chardonnay.
Classification: Premier cru (90%)
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 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
West: Sermiers (part of Vesle et Ardre)
Northwest: Villers-aux-Nœuds (part of Vesle et Ardre)
Northnortheast: Montbré (premier cru)
East: Rilly-la-Montagne (premier cru)
South: Germaine
Vineyards in Villers-Allerand, with the church in the background. Picture linked from Wikimedia Commons (photo G.Garitan, 2015).
The village
Villers-Allerand is located on the north side of the Montagne de Reims hill, due south of Reims.
The Villers-Allerand commune has a surface of 1230 hectares and 876 inhabitants (as of 2013), referred to as Allerandais and Allerandaises.
The road between Reims and Épernay, the D951, runs through the commune. The actual Villers-Allerand village is just east of the road, in the direction of Rilly-la-Montagne.
Along the D951, just where the agricultural land and the vineyards ends and the forest begins, the Montchenot village is located, which is part of the Villers-Allerand commune. One of the best restaurants of the Champagne region is located in Montchenot, Le Grand Cerf, which has one star in the Guide Michelin (as of 2016).
The town hall (mairie) of Villers-Allerand. Picture linked from Wikimedia Commons (photo G.Garitan, 2015).
Vineyards
The vineyards in Villers-Allerand are located on north-facing slopes on the Montagne de Reims.
The current vineyard surface in the Villers-Allerand commune is 133.6 hectares (330.1 acres), distributed over 57 vineyard owners (exploitants). There are 69.4 ha Pinot Meunier (51.9%), 40.8 ha Pinot Noir (30.5%), and 23.4 ha Chardonnay (17.6%). Numbers from CIVC, as of 2013. In 1997, the vineyard surface was also 128 ha.
Champagne producers
Champagne houses/négociants
The producer status NM = négociant-manipulant means that purchased grapes can be included in the Champagnes. NM producers can be anything from small producers that supplement their own grapes with some that they buy in, to large Champagne houses that primarily rely on purchased grapes.
- Patrick Bigar (NM?)
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.
- Bouvier & Fils
- Loïc Lamalle (RM)
- Martin-Bastogne (RC)
- Pouillon-Chayoux (RC), formerly had an address in Rilly-la-Montagne and the labels indicate that the bottles are produced by Benoît Pouillon in Rilly-la-Montagne.
- René Prévot (RC), has 8 ha of vineyards, mainly in Villers-Allerand but also in Rilly-la-Montagne and Chigny-les-Roses with 48% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay, and 22% Pinot Noir. The range includes a vintage Champagne composed of 60% Pinot Meunier, 20% Chardonnay, and 20% Pinot Noir (refers to the 2003 vintage).
- Stroebel (RC), member of Des pieds et des vins with 3.5 ha of vineyards with 55% Pinot Meunier, 30% Pinot Noir, and 15% Chardonnay. The annual production is 12 000 bottles.
Comment: The list is probably not complete.
The church in Villers-Allerand, Église Sainte-Agathe. Picture linked from Wikimedia Commons (photo Jean-Charles Lelong, 2012).
Links
- Wikipedia about this village in English, in French.
- Website of the Villers-Allerand commune.
- UMC’s village profile of Villers-Allerand.
- The Swedish version of this post.
© Tomas Eriksson 2014-2016, last update 2016-07-08
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