The Champagne soil
70 millions years ago, the sea was covering the Champagne area. Several
million years later some passive earthquakes contributed to the creation
of the limestone layer. This layer of limestone has created the particularity
of the Champagne wines. Its permeability and softness bring fineness to
the Champagne that no other sparkling wine can equal in any other areas
of the world.
The limestone layer is covered by clay (at
60%). It explains that the different wines
grapes are planted specifically in different areas of Champagne. The
chardonnay, the pinot
noir and the pinot meunier adapts
themselves differently whether the soil is limestone or clay.
The importance of limestone:
Epernay, the Champagne capital, celebrates limestone in June every year.
This celebration which was originally called the Limestone Festival is now
called the Limestone crossroads. Its object is the same since its creation...
celebrate this limestone of sea origin.
The success of the Champagne vineyards is due to this thick layer of 200
meters limestone. Two kinds of limestone, the belemnite and the micraster
can be found in Champagne. The belemnite is located below the best vineyards
(the First and Grands Crus) and the micraster
on the softer parts in the South of the Champagne area.
However what is the influence of the limestone on the Champagne wines?
- The limestone keeps the sun warmth and reflects it onto the grapes.
It allows a stable and durable temperature (parts of the day are quite
cold in Champagne)
- It helps the wine creating its bubbles and to mature. In fact the
large cellars of Champagne (some of them can be dozens of miles long)
were digged in limestone which has a regulating effect of the maturing
process of the wine. The temperature remains stable between 8 and 12
Celsius degrees. A large part of these galleries are magnificent (some
of them are listed by the French National Trust) were originally build
because of the need to extract stone to build large cities of the area
(Period Gallo-roman).
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