SOIL AND SUB-SOIL

The subsoil in Champagne is predominantly limestone. Outcropping sediments are likewise composed of 75% limestone (chalk, marl and limestone proper). This type of terrain provides good drainage and also explains why certain Champagne wines have a distinctly mineral taste.

Champagne’s extensive chalk deposits show as outcrops in the vineyard areas of the Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne and Vitry-le-François, but are buried deep underground on the Montagne de Reims. Elsewhere, chalky soils give way to a greater proportion of marls, clays and sands, in the Vallée de la Marne (to the west of Châtillon-sur-Marne) and in the hills surrounding Reims (Saint-Thierry, Vallée de l’Ardre and Montagne ouest). Marls essentially take over in the Côte des Bar vineyards (Bar-sur-Aube and Bar-sur-Seine).

The chalk in Champagne consists of calcite granules that are formed from the skeletal plates of coccolithopores (marine phytoplankton), and is characterized by the presence of belemnite fossils (marine invertebrates of the Mesozoic era). Being highly porous, chalk acts as a natural reservoir (holding 300 to 400 litres of water per m3), providing the vines with just enough water even in the driest summers.

Chalk draws in water through capillary action. The effort required to tap into this water supply puts the vines under just enough water stress in the growing season to achieve that delicate balance of ripeness, acidity and berry aroma potential.