Champagne Roger Manceaux are located in the pretty Premier Cru village of Rilly la Montagne in the Montagne de Reims.
Champagne Manceaux have been making Champagne for 5 generations and grandfather Roger still helps Patrick with the harvest. In 2019 we tried Roger Manceaux for the first time in Reims Tourist Office, Patrick’s son Charles was running a Champagne tasting session and we were impressed with the Champagne and particularly their excellent range.
Equipment
The following year we contacted Patrick to arrange a cellar visit which was the most informative we have ever been on. Like many of the smaller producers the Champagne making equipment is modern and state of the art. Grapes are brought straight from harvest into the modern press at ground level, after pressing the juice descends by gravity to the modern facility below ground.
Like in many Champagne houses riddling is done by a mixture of modern gyropalettes for the younger champagnes and by hand for the vintage champagnes. The cellar has an interesting collection of shell fossils from the local chalk and limestone rocks.
Terroir
Roger Manceaux has some prime terroir with vineyards in the Premier Cru villages of Rilly la montagne, Taissy, Trois-Puits and Villers-Allerand as well as the Grand Cru village of Mailly-Champagne. They grow mostly Pinot Noir but all also Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
The Champagne
One of the main reasons we were attracted to Champagne Roger Manceaux was that they produced Champagne from 100% Pinot Noir (Blanc de Noir), 100% Chardonnay (Blanc de Blanc) and unusually 100% Pinot Meunier.
Roger Manceaux split their Champagnes into 3 classifications:
Cuvée de Réserve – Brut 1 er Cru 45% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Meunier
Cuvée de Réserve – Demi-sec 1 er Cru 45% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Meunier
Nature – Zéro Dosage 1 er Cru 45% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Meunier
Rosé – Brut 1 er Cru 85% de Pinot Noir/Meunier and 15% de Coteaux Champenois red
Blanc de Blancs – Brut 1 er Cru 100% Chardonnay
Meunier – Extra Brut 1 er Cru 100% Pinot Meunier (Blanc de Noir)
Blanc de Noirs – Brut Grand Cru 100% Pinot Noir from the village of Mailly-Champagne
Grande Réserve – Brut 1er Cru 50% Pinot Noir Grand Cru, 50% Chardonnay 1er Cru
Millésime 2011 – 50% Pinot Noir Grand Cru and 50% Chardonnay 1er Cru
Cuvée Héritage 2009 – 60% Pinot Noir Grand Cru Mailly-Champage and 40% Chardonnay 1er Cru Taissy
Like all Champagne houses Roger Manceaux keep a selection of reserve wines to enable them to maintain consistency year after year.
We are big fans of Champagne Roger Manceaux and are particularly fond of the 100% Pinot Meunier and Blanc de Noir Grand Cru, Champagnes that ensure we return each year to Champagne Roger Manceaux every year.
The opinions in this article are those of the Champagnion.co.uk. We do not market or sell Champagne for this producer.