Champagne village profile: Villers-sous-Châtillon on the right bank of the Marne valley

Posted on May 3, 2015 by vintomas

Diagram Villers-sous-Châtillon 201504Key facts

Located in: Vallée de la Marne: Vallée de la Marne Rive Droite
Vineyards and grape varieties: 21.2 hectares (52.4 acres), of which 93% Pinot Meunier, 6.5% Pinot Noir, and 0.6% Chardonnay.
Classification: “Autre cru” (86%)

Maps

The Villers-sous-Châtillon village is the orange area to the right under the text “Binson-et-Orquigny”. (The one to the left is Binson-et-Orquigny, with a commune border located between the two.) 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, orange is built-up areas, and green indicates forest.


Google Maps view with the villages in the Vallée de la Marne Rive Droite highlighted.

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

Neighbouring villages

South: Reuil
East/southeast: Venteuil
Northeast: Belval-sous-Châtillon
Northnortheast: Cuchery
Northnorthwest: Baslieux-sous-Châtillon
Northwest: Châtillon-sur-Marne (a strip in the eastern part of that commune)
West: Binson-et-Orquigny

Villers-sous-Châtillon, view from Château de Villers. Picture linked from Wikimedia Commons (photo Oserge, 2014).

The village

Villers-sous-Châtillon is located on the right bank of the Marne river, which means north of the river, along the stream Ru de Camp. The actual village islocated in the southwestern corner of the commune, quite close ot the Binson-et-Orquigny village.

The Villers-sous-Châtillon covers 484 hectares and has 220 inhabitants (as of 2014) referred to as Villeriats and Villeriates.

Vineyards

The vineyards in Villers-sous-Châtillon are located to the northeast of the village, in a short side valley to the Marne valley formed by the stream Ru de Camp. The vineyards are a continuation of those in Binson-et-Orquigny (the commune where the main part of the vineyards on this slope are located), and consist of mild south-facing slopes with Pinot Meunier as the dominant grape variety.

The current vineyard surface in the Villers-sous-Châtillon commune is 21.2 hectares (52.4 acres). There are 19.7 ha Pinot Meunier (92.8%), 1.4 ha Pinot Noir (6.5%), and 0.1 ha Chardonnay (0.6%). Numbers from CIVC, as of 2013. In 1997, the vineyard surface was 20 ha. There are 30 vineyard owners (exploitants) in the commune.

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.

  • Besnard Chevalier & Filles (Facebook page)
  • Boutillier-Bauchet (RM), whose range includes a vintage Champagne.
  • J. Charpentier (RM), member of Vignerons Indépendants. Has vineyards in the nine villages Villers-sous-Châtillon, Reuil, Binson-et-Orquigny, Châtillon-sur-Marne, Mareuil-le-Port, Verneuil, Mont-Saint-Père, Neuville-sur-Seine, and Le Breuil. The vintage Champagne is partially vinified in oak and has varying Chardonnay/Pinot Meunier/Pinot Noir proportions (2004: 30% Ch/45% PM/25% PN, 2005: 45% Ch/15% PM/40% PN, 2006: 25% Ch/40% PM/35% PN). The cuvée Comte de Chenizot consists of 1/3 each of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, and Pinot Noir, while Cuvée Pierre Henri is vinified in oak barrels and consists of 100% Pinot Meunier from old vines.
  • Chevalier-Girot (RM), the range of which includes the vintage Cuvée Préstige composed of a majority of Chardonnay and a smaller proportion of Pinot Noir.
  • Chopin-Ouy (RC)
  • Bernard Clouet (RM), which has 10 ha of vineyards. The vintage Champagne is composed of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Meunier (refers to the 2005 and 2010 vintage).
  • Collard Chardelle (RM), has 8.5 ha of vineyards. Uses large oak barrels (foudres) for a large proportion of their production. The range includes three vintage Champagnes: the regular Millésime which is vinified in oak and composed of 37% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir, and 30% Pinot Meunier (refers to the 2000 vintage), Saveurs d’Antan which is vinified in oak during 2 years and is composed of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir (refers to the 2002 vintage), and Perle Bleue which is a blend of the three grape varieties in a blue glass bottle.
  • Collard-Picard (RM), with 15 ha of vineyards, has offices and and shop in Épernay, but their cellar is in Villers-sous-Châtillon. Founded in 1996, but with a prehistory going back to 1889. The Collard side originates from the Vallée de la Marne and the Picard side from the Côte des Blancs, with vineyards in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger as their jewel in the crown. The range includes two vintage Champagnes, both vinified in oak and produced without malolactic fermentation: Essentiel which is composed of 50% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Meunier, and 25% Pinot Noir (refers to the 2006 and 2010 vintages), and Cuvée des Archives which is composed of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. They also produce a vineyard-designated still red wine (a Coteaux Champenois), Les Louves, using 100% Pinot Meunier from a site in Binson-et-Orquigny.
  • A.D. Coutelas (RM, Facebook page), a producer with 8 ha of vineyards and an annual production of 90 000 bottles who have received a particular success in Norway. The producer has a history of having sold Champagnes under the names Amaury Cotelas and Damien Coutelas (who had 14 ha of vineyards and an annual production of 110 000 bottles). The vintage Champagne is simply called Vintage and consists of 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Meunier (refers to the 2006 and 2008 vintages). The range includes two cuvées that are vinified in oak and produced without malolactic fermentation: Louis Victor which is produced using the solera method and is composed of 34% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir, and 33% Pinot Meunier, and 1809 which is composed of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir from old vines and has an old-fashioned string closure.
  • David Coutelas (RM), which has 7.5 ha of vineyards and uses oak barrels. The vintage Champagne is called Cuvée César and is composed of 2/3 Chardonnay and 1/3 Pinot Noir (refers to the 2006 vintage).
  • Coutelas-Hubert (RM)
  • Ludovic David (RM), member of Vignerons Indépendants with 90% Pinot Meunier, 5% Chardonnay, and 5% Pinot Noir. The top wine is called Cuvée Lucie and contains 90% Pinot Meunier. Le Clos du Bleu is a cuvée (90% Pinot Meunier), mostly from the single vineyard site Le Clos du Bleu in Festigny, which is only filled in jéroboam (3 liter bottles).
  • David-Marlé (RM)
  • José Guerin (RC)
  • R.C. Lemaire (RM, Facebook page), also Roger-Constant Lemaire on older bottles, a member of  Vignerons Indépendants with 12 ha of vineyards in the Marne Valley, in Cumières, Hautvillers, Reuil, Binson-et-Orquigny, and Villers-sous-Châtillon, as well as Troissy and Leuvrigny. All Champagnes are produced without malolactic fermentation. The range includes a vineyard-designated and oak barrel-treated vintage blanc de blancs, Millésime Les Hautes-Prières, from a vineyard site in Hautvillers. Trianon 1966 is a non-vintage cuvée introduced on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the original cuvée Trianon.
  • Loriot Père & Fils (RM, Facebook-sida), whose vintage Champagne is called Vieille Réserve and is composed of 60% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. Excellence is a cuvée which is partially oaked.
  • Ohl-Thevenet, with vineyards in Damery, Villers-sous-Chatillon, and Festigny.
  • F. Remy-Collard (RM), member of Vignerons Indépendants with just over 12 ha of vineyards.
  • Robert-Allait (RM, Facebook page), member of Vignerons Indépendants with 13 ha of vineyards in six villages, with 80% Pinot Meunier, 10% Chardonnay, and 10% Pinot Noir. The range includes three vintage Champagnes: Cuvée Stéphanie which is a vintage blanc de blancs, Cuvée Jordan which is composed of a third each of the common grape varieties, and Cuvée Vieilles Vignes.
  • Bernard Rousseau
  • Trujillo-Poittevin (RM), which have supplied the staff Champagne to the French National Assembly.

Comment: the list may be incomplete.

Links

© Tomas Eriksson 2015-2017, last update 2017-08-19

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