Champagne village profile: Saint-Martin-d’Ablois in the Côteaux Sud d’Épernay

Key facts

Located in: Vallée de la Marne: Côteaux Sud d’Épernay
Vineyards and grape varieties: 82.5 hectares (203.9 acres), of which 80% Pinot Meunier, 10% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir, and 1% others.
Classification: “Autre cru” (86%)

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, orange is built-up areas, and green indicates forest.

Google Maps view with all the villages in the Côteaux Sud d’Épernay area highlighted. The premier cru village of the area, Pierry, is in yellow and the other villages, including Saint-Martin-d’Ablois, are in orange.

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

Neighbouring villages

Northeast: Épernay (the forest area)
East: Vinay
Southeast and south: Brugny-Vaudancourt
Northwest: Festigny
Northwest: Œuilly
Northnorthwest: Boursault

Saint-Martin-d’Ablois. Picture linked from Wikimedia Commons (photo Mairiestmartindablois, 2010).

The village

Saint-Martin-d’Ablois is located to the southwest of Épernay, beyond Vinay along the D11 road. The stream Le Cubry, which forms the valley and the slopes where the vineyards are situated, has its source in the forest area to the west of the village and empties just in the Marne river at Épernay.

The small villages Mont Bayen, La Foulerie, and Le Sourdon are also part of the commune, but it doesn’t seem to be common to use them as addresses.

The Saint-Martin-d’Ablois commune covers 2188 hectares and has 1438 inhabitants (as of 2016) referred to as Ablutiens and Ablutiennes.

Vineyards

Vineyards around Saint-Martin-d’Ablois. Picture linked from Wikimedia Commons (photo Mairiesaintmartindablois, 2010).

The vineyards in Saint-Martin-d’Ablois are located to the north and east of the village, on slopes that are part of the valley formed by the stream Le Cubry. The vineyards are located on both banks of Le Cubry and consist of slopes of varying direction. The vineyards are continuous with those in Vinay and Brugny-Vaudancourt. Pinot Meunier is the dominant grape variety.

The current vineyard surface in the Saint-Martin-d’Ablois commune is 82.5 hectares (203.9 acres). There are 66.4 ha Pinot Meunier (80.5%), 8.0 ha Chardonnay (9.7%), 8.0 ha Pinot Noir (9.7%), and 0.1 ha other grape varieties (0.1%). Current information from CIVC as of 2018, refers to the situation a few years earlier. In 1997, the vineyard surface was also 82 ha. There are 119 vineyard owners (exploitants) in the commune.

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.

• E. Jamart et Cie (NM, Facebook page), uses vineyards with 50% Pinot Meunier, 40% Chardonnay, and 10% Pinot Noir. The range includes the two vintage Champagnes Trilogie composed of 1/3 each of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir, and Blanc de Blancs with 100% Chardonnay.

Château d’Ablois. Picture linked from Wikimedia Commons (photo Mairiesaintmartindablois, 2010).

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. Smaller producers are placed under this heading when no information regarding producer status is available.

• Patrick Breul (RM, Facebook page), a producer that since 2009 is situated at the Château d’Ablois (see picture above). The range includes a vintage Champagne.
• André Brochot (RM, Facebook page). The company name is Francis Brochot, and the label indicates that they are located in Saint-Martin-d’Ablois and Vinay, but the street address is in Vinay.
• Damien Cez (RM), has 3.65 ha of vineyards, of which 1.64 ha in Saint-Martin-d’Ablois, 0.96 ha in Vinay, and 1.05 ha in Œuilly. The varietal composition is 72% Pinot Meunier, 18% Chardonnay, and 10% Pinot Noir.
• Cez-Maucourt (RC, Facebook page)
• Champion-Ouy (RC)
• Patrick Closquinet (RC)
• Dambron-Chamberlin (RC), was formerly located in Moussy.
• Didier-Ducos (RM), formerly Didier-Ducos Fils on the label, has 8 ha vineyards with 70% Pinot Meunier, 20% Chardonnay, and 10% Pinot Noir. The annual production is 60 000 bottles. The vintage Champagnen is composed of 55% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, and 15% Pinot Meunier.
  Profile at the website My man in Champagne, including a presentation video.
• Michel Hatat (RC), whose range includes a vintage Champagne composed of 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir and Meunier (refers to the 2008 vintage).
• Louis Huot (RM), formerly written L. Huot Fils on the label, på etiketten, has 7 ha of vineyards in Saint-Martin-d’Ablois, Vinay, Chavot, and Monthelon. The range includes a vintage blanc de noirs called Cuvée Louis composed of 50% Pinot Meunier and 50% Pinot Noir (refers to the 2009 and 2010 vintages). Not to be confused with L. Huot et Fils in Essômes-sur-Marne.
• Joffre-Desmoulins
• Hervé Lalouelle (RM), the company name is C & H Lalouelle.
• Jean-Pierre Lalouelle (RM, Facebook page), member of Vignerons Indépendants with 6 ha of vineyards with 70% Pinot Meunier and 30% Chardonnay.
• James Mary (RC, Facebook page), also written James Mary et Fils.
• Rigolot Marc & Fils (RM), usually written Rigolot Marc on the label. The range includes a vintage Champagne composed of 100% Chardonnay from old vines (refers to the 2004 vintage).
• Paul Mainguet et Fils (RM)
• de Villepin (RC), has 7 ha of vineyards. The property originates from the Ferme de Boursois (which is located in the upper part of the slope between Boursault and Vauciennes), which used to belong to the Duchess d’Uzès, but who sold the property in 1912. The company address is in Saint-Martin d’Ablois, though. The vintage Champagne is Pinot Noir-dominated with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
• Voisembert-Oudart (RC), with 6.5 ha of vineyards divided over 12 villages.
• Walraet (RM), who only produces blanc de blancs using Chardonnay from Cramant.

Comment: the list may be incomplete.

Former Champagne producers

• J. Bilet-Bénard
• Didier-Niceron / Didier-Destrez has since 2011 been replaced by Demay-Didier in Venteuil, following a generational succession that meant a fusion with the former producer Demay-Dehu & Fils, which was already located in Venteuil.

Links

• Wikipedia about this village in English, in French.
• Website of the Saint-Martin-d’Ablois commune.
  • List of Champagne producers.
• UMC’s village profile of Saint-Martin-d’Ablois.
• Vineyard map of Saint-Martin-d’Ablois on weinlagen-info.de.
• The Swedish version of this post.

© Tomas Eriksson 2015-2019, last update 2019-01-12