The Montagne de Reims Terroirs
Working with and representing the different terroirs of the Montagne de Reims is an ambitious project which began in 2018. Our aim was to find and procure grapes from the very best plots of old vines in the most quintessential terroirs of the Montagne de R eims. Ludes, Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay and Taissy are highly evocative village names which conjure the world’s finest Pinot Noir and Meunier wines. The Pinot Meunier vines, planted on the chalky soil of Ludes and Taissy, give a clear, precise, saline inter pretation of the mountain’s north face, while the southern terroirs of Ambonnay and Bouzy express a fruit forward yet seductive version of the Pinot Noir grapes that thrive in an environment of sun, clay and chalk. Perched on the northern face, Verzy and V erzenay show nuanced expressions of the power and finesse typical of these great terroirs.
Verzenay 2019
Grand Cru
Crafted from old vine Pinot Noir planted in the Grand Cru village of Verzenay these vineyards are located beneath the iconic Verzenay windmill and Les Champs Saint Martin.
The north-facing slopes of the Montagne de Reims and the well-drained, chalky soil render wines that are complex yet structured with expressive red fruit and citrus notes. A restrained yet powerful wine.
Verzenay was aged in oak, bottled under cork for the second fermentation and spent four years on lees before disgorgement.
Dosage: 2 gr/l.
« Paillard’s wine, for example, comes from old vines in the lieux-dits of Les Corettes, which is chalky with hardly any topsoil, and Les Champs St-Martin, a cool, north-facing site that’s very stony.
This results in a champagne with a sleek, energetic structure, characterized not only by typical red-fruit flavors, but also yellow fruits like peach and apricot, underlined by citrus notes that veer towards grapefruit or pomelo. While it feels ripe and complete, it’s notably less opulent than some other wines of the village, due to that strong site signature . » Peter Liem
Ludes 2019
Premier Cru
Crafted from old vine Pinot Meunier planted in 1970 , this wine comes mainly from the lieu-dit Les Hautes Pertes. An East facing terroir, near the Mailly-Champagne Grand Cru, is particularly calcareous with little clay.
The chalk subsoil is covered by a thin top soil rendering a complex, saline, soil-driven version of Pinot Meunier. The grape varietal becomes less prominent on the chalky subsoils.
Ludes was aged in oak, bottled under cork for the second fermentation and spent four years on lees before disgorgement.
Dosage: 2 gr/l.
« This cuvée comes from the area on the eastern side near the grand cru of Mailly-Champagne, which is notably chalky with little topsoil: two-thirds of the blend is from the lieu-dit of Hautes Perthes, with the remainder from the nearby parcel of Les Vigneulles de Devant, both planted in 1970.
This creates meunier that’s unusually racy and tense, driven by a pronounced salinity that harnesses and contains the ripe flavors of apricot, white peach, and nectarine. » Peter Liem
Taissy 2019
Premier Cru
Crafted from old vine Pinot Meunier, planted in 1963, located on the lower part of the north-facing slope of the Montagne de Reims.
This wine comes from the lieu-dit Les Dessus De Monthouzons, where the chalk subsoil is covered by a thin top soil resulting in a complex, saline and soil-driven version of Pinot Meunier.
Taissy was aged in oak, bottled under cork for the second fermentation and spent four years on lees before disgorgement.
Dosage: 2 gr/l.
VILLAGES AND TERROIRS VINIFIED BY ANTOINE AND QUENTIN PAILLARD
BOUZY GRAND CRU (10,70 HA) : LES MAILLERETTES 1970, LES MIGNOTTES 1979, LES MOTTELETTES 1961
AMBONNAY GRAND CRU (0,61 HA) : LES AIGREMONTS 1969, LA GUILLOTTE 1966, LE VILLAGE 1968
VERZY GRAND CRU (0,60 HA) : LA VOIE CREUSE 1930, LES CHAMPS-MAHAUT 1930 , LES COURTISOLS 1967
VERZENAY GRAND CRU (0,67 HA) : LES CORETTES 1979, LES CHAMPS SAINT-MARTIN 1967
LUDES PREMIER CRU (0,60 HA) : LES HAUTES-PERTES 1970, LES VIGNEULLES-DE-DEVANT 1970
« Renowned for the quality of its wines, Ludes is the largest premier cru in the Grande Montagne de Reims in terms of vineyard area, and so it’s no surprise that soils and terroirs vary across the village.
Both pinot noir and chardonnay thrive here, especially in chalkier areas, yet the star of the village might be meunier, which accounts for half of the plantings in Ludes. » Peter Liem
« One of the great historical terroirs of the northern Montagne de Reims, Verzenay is lauded for its structured and complex pinot noir. Compared to the neighboring village of Verzy, the wines of Verzenay are often more generous in body and less rigid in structure, although they clearly demonstrate the dark, almost gamy intensity and the brooding minerality characteristic of the northern Montagne. » Peter Liem