Although the Côte de Sézanne is really and extension of the Côte des Blancs, it is often regarded as 1 of the 5 Champagne sub-regions. The region lies about 25 minutes drive southeast of Étoge on the Côte des Blancs. A tiny fraction of tourists who visit Champagne visit the area. There are 12 villages in the sub-region with 1,417 hectares of vineyard and 715 operators. 75.1% Chardonnay, 18.6% Pinot Noir and 6.2% Pinot Meunier.
Terroir
The wine region is located on a southeast facing ridge and driving southeast from the Côte des Blancs you don’t see the vineyards until you actually stop in a village and look down on the ridge. The terroir of the region is also a little unusual because unlike the predominantly chalky soils further north, the soils of this appellation are mostly clay and a mixture of clay and chalk. Due to the specifics of the terroir, grapes tend to ripen a little earlier than other regions.
Grapes
The Chardonnay grape variety predominates with around 75% of vines, like on the Côte des Blanc. Some producers also grow a significant amount of Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. Grapes from the region are well known for being fruity. Wine experts tend to agree that the appellation does not produce grapes of especially great finesse. Several of the large Champagne houses also take grapes from the region for use in their famous blended non-vintage Champagne.
Champagne Producers
When we meet Champagne producers we often ask them for recommendations for other producers they think are worth visiting. When we visited Canard & Duchêne in Ludes on the Montage de Reims they told us about a small producer on the Côte de Sézanne who produced low dosage champagne called Yves Jacopé who they highly recommended us to visit.
Champagne Yves Jacopé are located in an old farm building in the village of Broyes right on the edge of the Côte de Sézanne ridge. The Jacopé family are extremely welcoming. The first thing that became very clear when we began our tasting was that the Champagne is incredibly good value with a bottle of non-vintage Champagne costing on average less than €14. You will be able to find reviews of Yves Jacopé’s Champagne in the Champagne Reviews Category of our Blog.
The Côte de Sézanne is located just a short drive south of the Côte des Blancs, it looks different and the appellation provides a very different Champagne experience, all factors that should tempt you to make the effort to visit the beautiful Côte de Sézanne.
